The Influence of Disgust on Technology Acceptance

Technology usage can hold different kinds of disgust elicitors. In this paper, it is postulated that Perceived Disgust, which is described here as the extent to which a person feels disgusted by the prospective usage of a technology, has a direct negative influence on the Behavioral Intention to Use a technology as well as an indirect influence on the Behavioral Intention to Use a technology through Perceived Usefulness. After collecting 136 online questionnaires and applying a structural equation modeling approach, these hypotheses were confirmed. These findings suggest that technology manufacturers should address people's potential negative perceptions of their devices in terms of the different domains of disgust, for example, by using antibacterial coatings, corresponding advertisements, and collaborating with respected medical experts.