Disgust is an aversive emotion involving rejection of and withdrawal from its elicitor. It is a universal human emotion, present in all cultures, and is evidently unique to humans—there is no indication that other species experience disgust. Disgust plays an important role in guiding human behavior in domains such as hygiene, food choice, sexuality, and social and moral relations. This entry describes the physical and psychological nature of [Page 644]the disgust response, the kinds of things that typically elicit disgust, the adaptive nature of disgust, and its development and acquisition.