A new study showed a link between strong right-wing views and fear of disease and increased concern about hygiene.
The study showed that people who are more offended by bad odors are more likely to support authoritarian leaders, such as Donald Trump.
In the past, disgust at bad odors was important for survival. The scientists suggested that the disgust at unfamiliar odors may be linked to a desire to keep apart from "culturally unfamiliar" groups.
[...] In the new study, 160 people were rated on their aversion to bodily odours on a scale to one five and their responses compared to their political views. It found that each point higher on the disgust scale was associated with feeling 7.5 points more positive towards authoritarian leaders.
[...] It showed that people who were more disgusted by smells were also more likely to vote for Donald Trump than those who were less sensitive.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday March 01 2018, @02:36PM (1 child)
I'd just note that there's quite a bit a research showing a lot of "disgust" reactions are learned behavior that comes from children observing other people (parents, other adults, other children). There are few things that produce an "innate" universal response like that.
For casual proof -- observe most children. (Studies are more rigorous, but this is just something most people will notice.) Small children are happy to pick up and play with bugs, small creeping slimy things, things that stink, things that most adults would never go near. Most of their "disgust" responses are learned later.
Concern about body odor is one of those things that is also informed by cultural practice. Until a century or so ago, when "deodorant" companies convinced everyone that body odor was unnatural and "unhygienic," body odor was just accepted as common. In fact, pheromones and such in it was often perceived as sexy. There's a somewhat famous account of Napoleon telling his wife to not bathe for several days before he was to return home, because he enjoyed her smell. And that he carried a cloth from her with him that she had kept under her armpit for a while. (If I remember the anecdote correctly...)
Also, keep in mind that frequent deep cleansing affects the type of bacteria that hang out on the skin, which affect odor character. Not washing (or at least not using harsh soaps) for days or weeks may develop very different biomes on your skin. The fast-growing stuff that takes up residence every day is probably more stinky and offensive.
(Note -- I shower daily and use deodorant, etc... So I'm not promoting this because it's not standard in Western society. But "hygiene" practices have given birth to a lot of BS over the years, and our sensitivity to BO is probably enhanced by cultural perception and practice.)
(Score: 2) by Bot on Friday March 02 2018, @05:09PM
> I'd just note that there's quite a bit a research showing a lot of "disgust" reactions are learned behavior that comes from children observing other people (parents, other adults, other children).
Those bits of research do not explain the faces of little kids in front of veggies, though.
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