Disgust propensity potentiates evaluative learning of aversion

Although disgust propensity (DP) has been implicated in the development of some anxiety disorders, the mechanism that may account for this association has not been fully elucidated. The present study examined the extent to which the potentiation of learned aversion might be one such mechanism. Participants (n = 103) were randomized to one of two evaluative conditioning (EC) paradigms consisting of 12 reinforced conditioned stimulus (CS+) pairings of the word "part" (condition one) or "some" (condition two) with 12 aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) images, and 12 pairings of the CS- word "cylinder" with 12 neutral images. Participants then completed measures of DP and trait anxiety and provided subjective affective ratings for the aversive US. The findings revealed that participants experienced significantly more disgust, anxiety, anger, sadness, and less happiness toward their respective CS+. In contrast, participants experienced significantly more happiness toward the CS-. Examination of the magnitude of evaluative change to the CS+ revealed the strongest effect for disgust. DP, but not trait anxiety, also predicted a greater increase in disgust, anger, and anxiety in response to the CS+ relative to the CS-. Furthermore, the association between DP and greater disgust, anger, and anxiety in response to the CS+ was mediated by more intense negative affective responding to the US among those higher in DP. The implication of these findings for better understanding how DP may confer risk for anxiety-related psychopathology is discussed.