The Reasons Behind The “Ick”
By Rebeca Funes
Imagine being out on a date and the person you’re with starts chewing too loudly, you suddenly feel disgusted, and are no longer interested in this person. This is a phenomenon known as the ick. The ick is a sudden feeling of disgust or repulsion toward a romantic partner that you were previously attracted to. This is often triggered by minor behaviors.
“I think people get the ick in relationships because their attraction wasn’t that strong to begin with. Sometimes, even the smallest things can make them lose interest quickly,” said junior Janel Estevez.
The ick happens for various reasons. One being cognitive biases, biases that exist based on how a person remembers experiences and interactions. There are various cognitive biases, such as attentional bias, where an individual only pays attention to what aligns with their beliefs or morals–it can even go as far as being a simple projection. An individual may get the ick by noticing behaviors they do not like in themselves.
“If we have a cognitive bias, we may interpret information based on our own beliefs and experiences. And sometimes, the way we interpret that information may or may not be accurate,” comments Psychologist Kia-Rai Prewitt, PhD, when referring to cognitive biases. However, it’s important not to confuse a cognitive bias with a hidden bias. A hidden bias is when a person may react to something based on experiences or stereotypes without realizing it.
Another reason for icks comes from evolutionary roots. Disgust originally served as a survival mechanism to avoid poor health and traits that indicated weak or unsuitable mates. Naturally, in ancestral environments, if a potential mate had physical deformities, a lack of survival skills, or illness, a caveman or woman would likely get the ick. This was to ensure these characteristics would not get passed down, as it can be the difference between life and death.
However, with the rise of social media, the ick has become drastically different. Although society is past the ancestral caveman age, our bodies remain wired to look for traits considered to be optimal, including those made by societal norms. If a behavior does not seem to follow social norms, a person may be less inclined to interact with them, as they would stand out, a factor that mattered heavily for survival back then.
“My ick is when people are fake nice. I can usually tell; I have a really good intuition. I don’t like to surround myself with people who aren’t genuine,” stated sophomore Isabella Aceituno.
So much so that according to Psychology Today, the study Collisson et al, showed that women were concerned about males being too feminine and males were concerned about women being too feminine, in terms of icks. This study was done by researchers analyzing TikTok videos with the #theick.
It was also found that narcissism can make one more susceptible to having the ick. It’s important to note that when referring to narcissism, researchers do not mean extreme narcissism but rather those with an inflated feeling of self-importance and the entitlement for admiration. The study found that this behavioral trait did correlate with getting the ick, but not the frequency in experiencing it.
Not only that, but perfectionism was also found to be a factor in encountering the ick. Unlike with narcissism, perfectionism did correlate with both the frequency and likelihood of experiencing the ick. Since perfectionists have very rigid, high standards, a minor ick, such as a fashion choice, can be a dealbreaker.
This phenomenon can be caused by a variety of different factors, each affecting this occurrence in its own unique way. From natural evolutionary processes to biases and individual behavioral traits, the ick is a combination of evolution and social components.
