Some have examined if disgust can be evoked by contacting an object, yet none have examined if reported disgust changes when the hand leaves the object; surprising, given that post-contact tactile disgust is a driver of hand hygiene

Tactile disgust: Post-contact can be more disgusting than contact. Supreet Saluja, Richard Stevenson. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, August 24, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218211043688

Abstract: Several studies have examined if disgust can be evoked by contacting an object – yet none have examined if reported disgust changes when the hand leaves the object. This is surprising given that post-contact tactile disgust is probably a driver of hand hygiene. We examined contact and post-contact tactile disgust and its sensory origins. Participants were asked to touch several objects, making sensory, disgust, and desire-to-handwash evaluations. These ratings were made at three stages-of-contact – object-contact (just touch), post-contact (just touch), and visual post-contact (touch, vision). Disgust was typically highest at postcontact (when the hand left the object). Stickiness and wetness were uniquely predictive of object-contact disgust. Only stickiness drove post-contact disgust, and only wetness visual post-contact disgust. Hand-washing desire was primarily driven by quantity of residue perceived on the hand. These findings suggest that tactile disgust is a multisensory and iterative process relating to object- and residue-adhesiveness.

Keywords: tactile, disgust, post-contact, hand washing desire, visual texture