Is disgust more resistant to extinction than fear? A meta-analytic review of laboratory paradigms

Mitchell, Benjamin J.; Coifman, Karin G.; Olatunji, Bunmi O.

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2024.104479

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…For instance, we are easily disgusted by food that has been taken before feeling sick, even if that food had nothing to do with the following state of disease (i.e., the "Garcia effect, " Garcia and Koelling, 1966). Moreover, it is harder to unlearn an association between a neutral stimulus and disgust than fear (see a recent meta-analysis by Mitchell et al, 2024). Similarly, disgust may be triggered by stimuli that are not directly associated with pathogen threats, such as obese people (Park et al, 2007), outgroup members from unfamiliar groups (Faulkner et al, 2004;Zakrzewska et al, 2019Zakrzewska et al, , 2020Zakrzewska et al, , 2023aO'Shea et al, 2020; see Liuzza, 2020 for a review), or members of sexual minorities (Inbar et al, 2009(Inbar et al, , 2012van Leeuwen et al, 2023).…”

Section: Open Access Edited Bymentioning

confidence: 99%

Italian validation of the body odor disgust scale

Liuzza,

Zakrzewska,

Olofsson

2024

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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IntroductionDisgust sensitivity to body odors plays a role in a set of psychological mechanisms supposedly evolved to avoid pathogens. To assess individual differences in body odor disgust, we previously developed the body odor disgust scale (BODS) and validated it in English. The BODS presents six scenarios where disgust could be evoked by smells coming from an internal source and an external source. The present study aimed to validate the BODS in the Italian population and to find further evidence for its structural, construct, and criterion validity.MethodsWe used two large samples (N = 1,050, F = 527; and N = 402, F = 203, respectively) that were representative of the Italian population for sex and age.ResultsAcross these two studies, we confirmed the hypothesized bifactor structure, with all the items loading onto a general body odor disgust sensitivity factor, and on two specific factors related to the internal structure. In terms of construct validity, we found that the BODS converged with pathogen disgust sensitivity of the three-domain disgust scale (TDDS) but was distinct from a general propensity to experience negative emotions. The BODS showed criterion validity in predicting the behavioral intentions toward COVID-19 avoidance behavior, although it did not seem to be incrementally valid when compared to the TDDS pathogen subscale. We also established scalar measurement invariance of the BODS regarding gender and found that women display higher levels of BODS.DiscussionResults from the Italian version of the BODS indicate its structural, construct, nomological and criterion validity. Furthermore, our result on sex differences in disgust sensitivity are consistent with previous literature, and we discuss them in the broader context of cross-cultural and primate findings that points toward a possible evolutionary explanation of this difference.

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