The Origins of Disgust

Primates evolved disgust to avoid parasites. Studies show macaques avoid food on feces, even when it's a preferred treat like peanuts. Touching feces triggered a stronger aversion than visual or smell cues.

• 🐒 Macaques showed a clear preference for food on wood chips, then food on replica feces, and were most hesitant with food on real feces.
• 🥜 Peanuts, a highly preferred food, were still avoided when placed on real feces, indicating disgust overrides immediate reward.
• 🖐️ Tactile sensation of touching feces was the strongest trigger for aversion, more so than sight or smell.
• 🧼 Macaques often washed food taken from feces or replica feces in water, suggesting a cleaning ritual to reduce contamination.

A man with glasses and a beard looks intensely at the camera, with a surreal, Escher-like cityscape behind him and the title 'Mind Field' and 'BONUS CLIP 1'.