Dr. David Pizarro: Emotions & Morality The Mind Society

With a Ph.D. from Yale and currently on the psychology faculty at Cornell, Dr. David Pizarro has been investigating the correlations between our emotional states on thinking and deciding for almost two decades. More specifically, he’s been researching how emotions, such as anger, disgust, and fear, impact the ways we process information, remember events, and generate moral judgments of others. We take a deep dive into what disgust is and how that word has shaped our interpretation of experiences, both generally and interpersonally. During our conversation, Dr. Pizarro shares his fascinating findings linking a person’s unique “disgust sensitivities” to political orientation, aversion to change, and the small clues into their personality. These exact sensitivities suggest ways in which we perceive and judge others, especially from a moral perspective. Ever wonder how your tongue may play a role in determining which direction you might lean morally? We discuss all of this and more