Abstract
Although several cognitive theories have proposed specific types of appraisals hypothesized to increase fear and avoidance of contaminants, little research has tested these ideas. The current study utilized a prospective design to assess appraisals and dispositional traits in a normal sample several days prior to a behavioral approach task (BAT) involving commonly-encountered contamination stimuli. Danger appraisals significantly predicted behavioral avoidance and self-reported disgust, but not anxiety, during the BAT, even after accounting for neuroticism, disgust sensitivity, and subclinical obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The prospective design of the study establishes temporal precedence of danger appraisals, assessed during a period of low emotion, predicting subsequent emotional and behavioral response. Results also point to the importance of disgust sensitivity and the experience of disgust in response to everyday contaminants. These findings are discussed in light of public health outbreaks including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the H1 N1 flu, which have caused novel contamination threats worldwide in recent years.
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