4.4 Article

Reappraisal of disgust: Self-report and behavioural assessment of individuals with moderate to high contamination fears

Journal

JOURNAL OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
Volume 78, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102346

Keywords

Disgust; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Contamination; Reappraisal

Funding

  1. Australian Research Council [DP0984560]
  2. Australian Research Council [DP0984560] Funding Source: Australian Research Council

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of reducing disgust through modifying disgust appraisals in individuals with moderate to high OCD-relevant contamination fears. Results indicated that interventions targeting secondary disgust appraisals showed significantly less disgust-related avoidance and reported significantly less disgust compared to primary appraisal conditions.
Previous research has linked certain psychological disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), to the experience of disgust and how it is interpreted/appraised. Therefore, the present study examined whether targeting primary and secondary disgust appraisals (i.e., cognitive reappraisal) in individuals with moderate to high OCD-relevant contamination fears can effectively reduce disgust. Fifty-two participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions; two of which involved reading a brief script modifying either a primary disgust appraisal (i.e., likelihood of a feared outcome) or a secondary disgust appraisal (i.e., the individual?s ability to cope), and a third control condition with no reappraisal script. Following this experimental manipulation of disgust appraisal, participants completed two contamination-relevant behavioural approach tasks which involved 1) increasing proximity to, and eventually touching, a dead cockroach, and 2) drinking apple juice from an unused urine sample collection container. Results indicated that the interventions successfully modified their intended appraisal targets. Furthermore, on the second behavioural approach task, the secondary reappraisal condition demonstrated significantly less disgust-related avoidance relative to the control condition and reported significantly less disgust relative to the primary reappraisal condition. Our results incrementally add to the existing literature that emphasises the potential advantages of modifying disgust appraisals and specifically secondary disgust appraisals when treating disgust-based psychological disorders.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.4
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available