Author Question: How does disgust act as a behavioral immune system? What will be an ideal ... (Read 69 times)

newbem · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

How does disgust act as a behavioral immune system?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe the process that led psychologists from understanding the risky shift to understanding that same phenomenon as a more general group polarization process.

What will be an ideal response?

Kaytorgator · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

a . Disgust produces an avoidance motive. When we see something disgusting, we want to avoid it.
b. In our ancestral history, this helped us to avoid spoiled food, contact with sick people, risky sex partners, and other potentially health-damaging experiences.
c. Disgust may even underlie some modern tendencies toward prejudice. In the past, people living in the same community had likely been exposed to the same diseases. Strangers from other groups could carry new, risky diseases. Disgust with other groups is associated with prejudice in modern intergroup relations.

Answer to Question 2

Possible Response Points
Early research found that groups tended to make riskier decisions than individuals. This finding was dubbed the risky shift..
Thereafter, exceptions to that rule began to create confusion. Sometimes researchers found groups could be more cautious than individuals. This was dubbed the conservative shift or stingy shift..
Later studies identified a more correct principle. They demonstrated that groups tended to shift toward a more extreme version of whatever tendency they already had. If a group leaned towards caution, a group decision would be far more conservative than if the average individual decision were taken. If a group leaned toward risk, they would make a riskier joint decision than individuals.
This new, more accurate principle was called group polarization for the polarizing effects of group discussion and interaction on decision making.