The Disgust Threat Interpretation Bias is Not Moderated by Anxiety & Disgust Sensitivity

The present study used the homophone spelling task to investigate whether induced disgust facilitates an interpretational bias. In addition, it considered whether factors related to anxiety and disgust moderate this disgust-generated threat-interpretation bias. Participants were assigned to one of three groups in which they experienced a neutral, anxiety, or disgust mood induction. Participants subsequently completed the homophone spelling task. Results indicated that participants who experienced induced anxiety or disgust interpreted significantly more neutral/threatening homophones in a threatening way, relative to participants who experienced a neutral mood induction. This supports the proposal that experienced disgust generates a threat interpretation bias and implicates disgust as a causal factor involved in anxious psychopathology. Subsequent analyses also indicated that measures of anxiety sensitivity, generalized anxiety, and disgust sensitivity and propensity did not moderate the disgust generated interpretation bias. Suggestions as to why this may have occurred are discussed, along with proposals for future research into the possible role of disgust in anxious psychopathology.