From anger to disgust: why are we seeing so much that’s so gross?

By Lizzy Roberts, Director, Energy and Clean Tech

In recent years there’s been a marked shift in the general tone of campaigning from one of outrage to one of disgust.

From confronting videos that show fish eaten alive by sea-lice in intensive farming conditions, to campaigns in Europe that have seen physical excrement used as ink in letters to politicians looking to end pollution in rivers, we’re seeing a rise in gross out comms.

But what’s behind the rise? The psychology of disgust makes it a powerful tool for campaigners. But in making the case for change, understanding the research behind disgust is key to knowing whether it will be an effective and fair tactic.

A few years ago, the climate campaign landscape was full of direct, punchy anger. The famous ‘How dare you?’ Greta Thunberg speech to the UN, had a similar tone to corporate campaign ads like OVO Energy’s ‘It’s time to power your life differently’. In recent months however, from Patagonia’s footage of Salmon farming, to housing campaigners showing the real world effects of damp in some of the UK’s worst kept council housing, campaigns that are gaining traction have focused on tapping into outrage stemming from nauseating scenes.

This filters through to the discourse happening in parliament. A quick search of the term ‘disgusting’ in speech made in the House of Commons shows a notable increase in parliamentarian use since 2018.

Figure 1. recorded use of the term ‘disgusting’ in the House of Commons over time

The psychology of disgust

There’s been much research on the feeling of disgust in psychology, and viewing this research within the context of campaigning may give clues as to why we’ve seen such an uptick in disgust.

In 2016, the University of Kent revealed that people expressing disgust or anger influenced how they were perceived. Participants in an experiment were more likely to choose to express disgust when their goal was to show that their condemnation of an act was morally motivated, while they chose to express anger when they sought to protest that the act harmed their own interests. Further research in the field suggested that the feeling of disgust rose, and anger fell, when the target of a violation shifted from the ‘self’ to another person.

Feeling disgust on behalf of others is an interesting tool when applied to communications and could explain why we’ve seen such a rise in its tactic in recent campaigns. So many high profile campaigns make the case for regulatory or legislative change on behalf of a group, habitat and species, or in order to fix a societal problem.   Whether it’s campaigning to improve the way we deal with pollution, challenge animal rights abuses or to address the country’s structural housing or infrastructure challenges, campaigners regularly call for change on behalf of others.

Disgust is a powerful emotion and we should be wary of its use

Though we’ve seen a notable increase in the use of the emotion in comms in recent years, it’s long existed as a powerful but dangerous campaign tool. Throughout history it’s been used as a tool of oppression and as a political tactic to dehumanise groups, and so campaigners should be careful.

It’s critical to ensure campaigners using the tactic direct the strength of that emotion to the right outlets to address injustice. When reviewing public health and disgust, researchers from the University of Houston concluded an ‘informed, activated public’ was critical to protecting health, but people who felt disgusted by a health threat were less likely to seek additional information. This means it’s absolutely crucial that as part of any comms campaign, the clear remedy or call to action is there.

The worrying increase in threats and harassment to not only employees of businesses being targeted by campaigns, but to the personal offices of politicians should be motivation enough to clearly explain the true causes of why injustice is happening and present solutions on how it can be addressed.

Things to come

The interaction between psychology, communication and campaigning is constantly changing. The shift we’ve seen from anger to disgust reflects activism that has shifted from individual or business specific calls to action to bigger policy or regulatory changes.  Recent campaigns showcase some of the big environmental and societal injustices we’re witnessing today and as they provoke big responses, activists can make the most of this power in a fair and effective why by having clear solutions and practical asks in their communications.

If you’d like advice and support on how to build a compelling campaign, get in touch by emailing info@seahorseenvironmental.co.uk