One of the memories about parenting that haunts me, as I was so ashamed of my reaction, was the time I actually had to close the bathroom door when my poor daughter Kristin was barfing. We all had the flu, and I just knew I’d be in trouble if I left that door open, but I felt like I was abandoning my child. I felt like an absolutely awful mother, though, and I’ve apologized for this incident frequently over the years.
So it was with some trepidation that I explored Trevor Cox’s Bad Vibes website. Here you can listen to over 30 terrible sounds (yes, he does include barfing) and rate them. I was surprised that my reactions tended to be somewhat less intense than other people’s. I suspect that the singling out of sound alone makes these stimuli less effective for me. For example, I’m not so bothered by the sound of nails on a blackboard, but I absolutely hate the feeling that goes along with it. Any yes, poor Cal Poly hasn’t switched too many of their classrooms to whiteboards yet, so scratching your nails is a regular part of the professor biz.
Cox provides a very nice lit review about our reactions to disgust. I have seen most of these studies, but it was nice to have them all in one place. The general consensus is that disgust evolved to protect us from disease. So if you feel brave, check this site out!
