This report is a
study conducted in order to prove the hypothesis made concerning the relation
between disgust sensitivity and negative attitude towards mentally challenged
people. In order to carry out this study we use a number of questions prepared
based on individual tastes and psychology assignment from there we deduced their reaction towards
mentally ill people. Also we studied the relation between perceived vulnerability
to diseases (PVD) and attitude towards mental illness. We found this relation
to be positive. From the conclusions drawn from this study we are not just able
to establish the relation between disgust and aversion to mental illness but
this study paves the path for future research in the same area.
- Background
Disgust is the act of rejection of any
particular object or taste which the mind decides as good or bad. These tastes
develop after a certain age of 5 or 6 years and continue depending on the
mental level. The disgust factor can be very high so much as refusing to sit on
a seat in a public bus or it can be a nominal one like not wearing second hand
clothes. In all these cases the feeling of rejection towards a particular
object is expressed. The feeling of disgust can be sometimes so high that even
interacting with a group of people might disturb you and cause discomfort. This
type of mental behavior can have an adverse effect on the society and leads to
hatred towards a particular class of objects or people. This sort of
intolerance is usually seen towards sick or. Mentally ill people who are
perceived to be unclean. The aim of this report is to study the relationship
between the feelings of disgust, perception of vulnerability to contagious
diseases and attitude towards mentally ill people.
Disgust begins in the form of rejection to
certain objects and later takes shape of mental and imaginative disgust. This
type of feeling causes people to be confined to a close group and have minimal
interaction with others who are perceived to be less “clean” than them. This
has a major impact on dealing with mentally ill or terminally ill patients. A
mentally challenged person is perceived as being “unclean” and hence contact is
minimized with the individual. This is what leads to a negative attitude
towards mentally ill people. The lack of willingness to interact with them and
keeping away is what causes a negative feeling to grow.
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| Psychology Online Assignment |
Similar to the aversion to mentally ill
people, there is also the aversion towards people suffering from contagious
diseases. Such a risk is well known and so the psychological effect of catching
the infection from an infected person is much more than the actual disease. It
is this fear which leads to people being away from those infected by a
contagious disease. However, the irony of the situation is that there is a
higher aversion towards mentally challenged people than towards those suffering
from a disease. This is because disgust element is a mental picture which is
more prominent than the actual picture.
From our tests we have two hypotheses: one
of them being the dislike of a mentally ill person using an object more than
anyone else and second of a relationship that higher disgust sensitivity causes
greater aversion to mental disease. As a byproduct of the study we can also assume
that there is no such relation between PVD and aversion to mental illness. The
results of our study will help us determine the correct hypothesis.
Method
and Results
- Method
In
order to carry out the study to determine a relationship between disgust, PVD
and attitude towards mental illness, we conducted a test on a number of people
from both genders. The result concluded was used to direct the hypothesis made.
To determine the opinion of the people a
questionnaire consisting of 50 questions was formulated and mainly consisted of
questions pertaining to personal opinion. The questions were to be answered
without any prior thinking or calculations
From the answers obtained, the results
were tabulated. Statistic deductions were made so as to get the deviation and
median to determine the opinion of the people. Based on this opinion the hypotheses
which are made at the beginning are finalized. This leads to our final
objective, i.e., the correlation between disgust, PVD and mental illness.
Results
From the questionnaires and their
respective responses we have been able to determine the results of our study.
This can be expressed in tabular form giving the details of the participants,
their reaction and the resulting conclusion as followsThus from the above result we can
determine the correlation between the disgust sensitivity and Aversion to
mental illness.
This can be expressed as:
r (631) = -0.178, p < 0.05
This means that for an average of 631
people tested, the correlation between disgust sensitivity and aversion to
mental illness was -0.178.
Also for the same people the relation
between PVD and aversion to mental illness was found to be -0.061. Both these
relations are for a level of significance 0.05.
- Discussion
From the above results we are now in a
position to defend our hypothesis. We can see that the first hypothesis which
was that of a correlation between greater aversion towards mental illness and
higher level of disgust sensitivity is true. From the results and its deduction
we can see that correlation between higher disgust sensitivity and aversion to
mental illness is more negative which means that people with high level of
disgust sensitivity have a negative attitude towards mentally ill people. This
can be statically explained using the correlation factor. Hence, our first
hypothesis is correct.
Also we see that there is not much
association between PVD and aversion to mental illness because PVD is an
explicit awareness formed due to circumstances whereas aversion to mental
illness is the mental makeup. Thus, we are able to validate both our hypothesis
from our study.
The correlation between disgust
sensitivity and aversion to mental illness is not just an isolated case. In
general it is observed that people with higher level of disgust sensitivity
tend to have a negative correlation with other diseases such as colostomy,
terminal illness and even their behavior towards gays. These hypotheses are
supported by a highly negative correlation factor. Thus, people with a high
disgust sensitivity level tend to be less tolerant towards diseased or mentally
ill patients mainly due to their psychological build up. It is an implicit
feeling which depends mainly on one’s mental makeup.
In our study we have been able to justify
a negative correlation between disgust and negative attitude towards mentally
challenged people. However, there are certain flaws within this study. One of
them is the limited number of participants. The correlation may or may not
change with the increase in the number of participants. Also the area where the
study is conducted may have an effect on the final result. These are the main
limitations of this study performed.
From the studies conducted and the
deductions made we have been able to conclude that people with high level of
disgust sensitivity are more averse to mentally ill people. Also we have
established that there is no relation between PVD and aversion to mental
illness. These studies help us to understand the behavior of people and also
help us understand how to deal with such behavior pattern. This study would
help us formulate further research in the area of disgust and stigmatization.
This could be very important in understanding the behavior and attitude of
people while living in a society.
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| Psychology Online Assignment |
The understanding of this aspect of mind is
essential so as to be able to create better awareness about diseases so that
false alarms and misunderstandings about mental and terminal illness are not
spread. This study gives a lot of scope in order to carry out behavioral
research essential for proper care and sensitivity towards ill people.
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