@misc{Stefańczyk_Michał_The,
 author={Stefańczyk, Michał},
 copyright={Copyright by Michał Stefańczyk},
 address={Wrocław},
 howpublished={online},
 school={University of Wroclaw. Faculty of Historical and Pedagogical Sciences. Institute of Psychology},
 language={eng},
 abstract={Disgust sensitivity, understood as a tendency to experience the emotion of disgust (Shook et al., 2019), is as a risk-avoidance mechanism (Sparks et al., 2018) that serves to protect us from potentially threatening objects or people (Curtis et al., 2011). One of the most important factors influencing disgust sensitivity is biological sex, with females being more disgust sensitive than males (for a meta-analysis, see Sparks et al., 2018). However, the reasons for that sex discrepancy remain obscure. In my thesis I tested a number of hypotheses aimed at explaining this phenomenon. The results of my studies have been described in a series of five papers:- Stefanczyk, M. M., Lizak, K., Kowal, M., & Sorokowska, A. (2022). “May I present you: my disgust!” Declared disgust sensitivity in the presence of attractive models. British Journal of Psychology, 113(3), 739-757. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12556.- Stefanczyk, M. M., Rymaszewska, M., & Lachowicz-Tabaczek, K. (2023). Far from disgusted: The relationships between disgust sensitivity, dark personality traits, and biological sex. Personality and Individual Differences, 202, 111983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111983.- Stefanczyk, M. M., &, Zielińska, A. (2024). Are cooks more disgust sensitive? Preliminary examination of the food preparation hypothesis. Appetite, 192, 107117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.107117.- Stefanczyk, M. M., &, Pieniak, M. (2024). Sex Differences in Pathogen Disgust Sensitivity - Testing the Coalitional Hunting and Warfare Hypothesis. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, [in print]. doi: 10.1037/ebs0000361.- Stefanczyk, M. M., Adamczyk, L., Ciniawska, A., Czulak, M., Fuławka, K., Galka, K., Hibino, M. W., Ipnar, P., Jedrusik, P. J., Mikołajewska, Z., Pytlińska, A., Wroblewska, K., Sorokowska, A. Parents are less disgust sensitive than childless individuals, and a child’s presence has no effect on disgust sensitivity of a parent. [second round of reviews in Parenting: Science and Practice]. So far, no studies empirically addressed the issue of the origins of the sex differences in disgust sensitivity. It may come as a surprise, given how robust this effect is: since the first disgust measures were developed, across various cultures and in different environmental contexts, women report higher disgust sensitivity levels than men. When we consider the substantial size effect of this discrepancy, it is hard to argue that this is merely a coincidence. Having come across this consistent pattern of results, I decided to use a scientific, empirical approach to identify and explain the reasons for it. However, this matter is not merely an academic dispute on a theoretical subject – it may potentially help understand many issues vital for the modern politics and the Western social environment in general, as disgust sensitivity is robustly linked with phenomena such as xenophobia, homophobia, mental disorders, moral decision-making, or political views and voting behaviours. I argue that getting to understand where the differences between men and women in disgust sensitivity come from may be a step towards scientific, evidence-based approach in addressing the aforementioned social phenomena. This thesis comprises the first studies that aimed at an empirical verification of socio-evolutionary hypotheses on why women and men differ in their disgust sensitivity. Here, I present a synopsis of my research in this field, preceded by theoretical background on disgust and sex differences in disgust, as well as potential explanations of the latter.},
 title={The Search for Origins of Sex Differences in Disgust Sensitivity},
 type={text},
 keywords={disgust, disgust sensitivity, sex differences, sex},
}