The Ick

    Throughout this course, a unit that stood out to me was the one on psychological motivation in mate selection and reproduction. What piqued my interest in this unit was the connection I made between it and the recent Gen-Z terminology of "the ick." The ick is a feeling that a person (usually a woman) gets from another person (usually a man) they are romantically interested in; someone usually gets the ick when their love interest does something cringey or embarrassing. As Angelica Stabile states in her article Why do women get 'the ick' from men? Experts explain the psychology behind the feeling, "chewing with an open mouth, wearing flip-flops, or tripping over their own feet while walking," (Stabile, 2024) are all common icks.

    The connection between this phenomenon and PSYC 3380 is the "biological, primal instinct" (Stabile, 2024) that causes the ick. Stabile states that in many primate species, including humans, adult females have a higher sensitivity to things considered distasteful in their partners; women tend to have a more easily activated habenula, which is "a central part of the brain that's involved in various important functions, including motivation and decision-making" (Stabile, 2024). When women get the ick, their habenula gets activated, thus diminishing the woman's desire and motivation to pursue a relationship.

    The psychological explanation behind why women get the ick is that women's habenulas are inherently negative and are incessantly scouting for anything that's not appealing in their mate. According to Stabile, this part of the brain is so negative because women are subconsciously sensitive to their environment due to their biological needs; women want to protect their future children and want to give them the best environment to live in, meaning they must be particularly selective in their mate selection.

    Of course, this explanation behind the ick is heteronormative and generalized, but regardless, I found this information behind the ick to be fascinating and a good link between this course and real life.

References

Stabile, A. (2024, December 12). Science reveals why men give women' the ick'. Fox News.https://nypost.com/2024/12/12/lifestyle/why-do-women-get-the-ick-from-men-experts-explain-the-psychology-behind-the-feeling/