Is self-disgust an implicit or explicit emotional schema?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Self-disgust is linked to mental health issues in various populations.
• Current measures of self-disgust focus on explicit, self-reported physical and behavioral aspects.
• Implicit assessment of self-disgust remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel Implicit Self-Disgust Measure (ISDM).
• To assess the automaticity of self-disgust using an Implicit Association Task (IAT) paradigm.
• To explore the association between implicit and explicit self-disgust, especially in trauma-related contexts.

Main Methods:

• Development of a word list for the ISDM based on emotional valence and arousal ratings.
• Validation of the ISDM using a single-target IAT in a non-clinical sample.
• Replication and examination of the ISDM in a clinical sample (trauma-related experiences) with mood induction.

Main Results:

• The ISDM demonstrated significant associations with self-reported self-disgust in a non-clinical population.
• Findings were partly replicated in a trauma-exposed group, linking ISDM scores to the physical aspect of self-reported self-disgust.
• The study provides evidence for the validity and utility of the ISDM.

Conclusions:

• The ISDM is a promising tool for measuring implicit self-disgust.
• The findings highlight the automatic nature of self-disgust, particularly in individuals with trauma histories.
• The ISDM has potential implications for clinical practice and interventions targeting self-disgust.