Disgust predicts conservative views most strongly in people with low bodily awareness

A new study published in Politics and the Life Sciences suggests that the connection between feeling disgust and supporting conservative political views depends heavily on a person's awareness of their own bodily sensations. Researchers from the University of Kent and the Centre for the Politics of Feelings investigated the role of interoceptive sensibility, or conscious awareness of internal bodily signals, in this relationship.

The study involved 632 adult participants from the United States, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Participants completed questionnaires measuring bodily awareness, disgust sensitivity in three domains (pathogen, sexual, and moral), and their political ideology on a seven-point scale.

The research found that overall disgust sensitivity was linked to a higher likelihood of identifying as a Republican and holding conservative beliefs. However, this connection was strongest among individuals with low interoceptive sensibility, or those less aware of their bodily sensations. Among these participants, highly sensitive to disgust were 64.1% likely to identify as Republicans, with a more conservative ideology.

In contrast, for individuals who were highly attuned to their bodily signals, the link between feeling easily disgusted and holding conservative views was not statistically significant. The strongest predictor of conservative political views was moral disgust, not pathogen or sexual disgust. The study suggests that understanding the link between emotions and political attitudes may require considering not just what people feel, but also how much they pay attention to their bodily signals.