Special Series on Disgust and Phobic Avoidance: A Commentary

In this article, we discuss a few of the implications of the research that comprises the special series on disgust and phobic avoidance (this issue). This commentary opens with a discussion of the importance of distinguishing between disgust as a sensory-visceral, affective response and disgust as a core emotion with complex manifestations (e.g., shame). This is followed by a discussion of the “conceptualexperiential” distinction and its implications for methodologies and tasks used in disgust research. Next, we ask whether there are certain beliefs or fears that characterize the inability to tolerate high levels of disgust. In the last section, treatment implications are addressed. Specifically, we cast doubt on the claim that disgust can (and should) be directly targeted in treatment and propose that little is known about what constitutes truly “pathological” disgust.

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