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Objective: Disgust is a basic emotion evolved to safeguard our omnivorous species from contagion. Although the factors eliciting disgust typically involve concerns related to physical contamination, physical disgust responses are also prompted by moral transgressions, (i.e. cannibalism, pedophilia, betrayal). The link between the general propensity to experience disgust (i.e. "Disgust Sensitivity") and morality, in particular in the deontological domain, is supported by an increasing amount of data on clinical and non-clinical sample. Evolutionistic explanations of this link posit that disgust evolved to indicate the presence of a threat to the integrity of the individual not only in the physical domain but also in the social and moral domain. In addition to the evolutionary point of view, this link could also be better investigated in terms of individual development. To the best of our knowledge, literature is scarce regarding which early experiences are associated to high DS. Therefore, this study aims to explore the content of early memories associated with disgust. Based on the strict link between disgust and morality, we hypothesized an association between DS and early memories of moral criticism. Method: 60 non-clinical participants filled in measures of DS. They were then presented with an auditory disgust induction, after which they recalled early memories through the technique of the "affect bridge". 10 independent raters assessed the emotional content of the memories on visual-analogical scales. Results: Results showed a positive association between disgust sensitivity and the propensity to experience deontological guilt. There was also a significant positive association between disgust sensitivity and moral memories, in particular relating to early experiences of being the object of contempt, moral criticism, anger, and of being held responsible. Conclusions: These data directly support the centrality of early morally-loaded interpersonal experiences in the development of DS, confirming the link between disgust and morality also at the level of individual historical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guilt plays a role in various forms of psychopathology. However, different types of guilt might be involved in different mental disorders. Obsessive-compulsive (OC) patients are prone to a type of guilt in which the violation of an internalized moral norm is necessary and sufficient, whereas data suggest that depression might be linked to more interpersonal types of guilt. However, the extent to which a specific guilt phenomenology is involved in each condition is yet to be determined. Here we assessed the association between different types of guilt and different diagnostic groups. Two clinical samples (33 OCD and 35 non-OCD) filled in the Moral Orientation Guilt Scale (MOGS) along with other OCD and depression measures. Regression was employed to test group differences in the MOGS subscales and to test the influence of MOGS subscales on OCD and depression levels. Results confirm that different types of guilt might be implicated in different psychopathological conditions. Specifically, moral norm violation guilt is more present in OC patients than in other disorders. Depression seems to be associated with different guilt feelings depending on the psychopathological condition, specifically in non-OC patients, with types of guilt involving a "victim", supporting the accounts viewing interpersonal guilt as involved in the emergence of depressive symptomatology and hyper-altruistic behavior as a vulnerability factor for depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guilt emerges as the emotional result of a conflict between our behavior and internalized morality. Since morality is best conceptualized as a multidimensional construct, guilt results in different phenomena depending on the moral values internalized by the "guilty". Indeed, mounting evidence supports the distinction between guilt feelings emerging from deontological morality and guilt feelings emerging from altruistic morality. Most measures fail to consider moral orientation when assessing guilt. Our aim was to develop a reliable and valid tool, able to independently measure different types of guilt feelings. We presented the 17-items Moral Orientation Guilt Scale (MOGS) to a large subclinical sample, along with other questionnaires. Analyses included measures of classical test theory and innovative techniques of network analysis. This cross-validation approach pointed at four factors: "Moral Norm Violation", "Moral Dirtiness", "Empathy" and "Harm". Results suggested MOGS good reliability and a strong construct and convergent validity. Importantly, "Moral Norm Violation" and "Moral Dirtiness" scores were positively correlated with disgust sensitivity, supporting the link between disgust and deontological guilt. Differently, "Harm" scores were negatively correlated with disgust sensitivity scores, in line with the notion that altruism and disgust possibly evolved as part of contrasting motivational systems. • MOGS measures different types of guilt considering individual moral orientation. • Deontological guilt shows a positive association with disgust sensitivity. • Altruistic guilt shows a negative association with disgust sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]