Yale Daily News

Updated: Monday, March 22, 2010 3:45 a.m.

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SCIENCE COLUMN | Levine: ‘It’s gross’: Dissecting the disgust reaction

Published Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Recently, I’ve been taking note of the instances in which people use “It’s just gross!” as an argument or explanation.

Everyone has a disgust response to some things. When we see, smell or even imagine something gross, we have a physical reaction. Most notably, we make a characteristic face that involves crinkling up our noses and turning down the corners of our mouths. We may also shudder and/or make a “blech” sound. The electric resistance of our skin decreases, which can be measured by a Galvanic Skin Response measurement machine.

Different individuals have different...

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