Effects of exposure to erotica on disgust: A preliminary test among contamination-fearful individuals

Disgust has been implicated in the fear of contamination that is commonly observed in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, basic and treatment-oriented research has shown that disgust is resistant to extinction among those with a fear of contamination. Consequently, there is growing interest in discovering novel approaches to targeting heightened disgust responding among those with OCD. Recent experimental research suggests that sexual arousal may inhibit disgust responding. Accordingly, the present study examines the effects of exposure to erotica on verbal reports of disgust and behavioral avoidance in a contamination-fearful sample of adults. Participants viewed sexually arousing, positively arousing, or neutral films and participated in a series of sexually relevant and non-sexually relevant behavioral approach tasks. Participants also gave ratings of disgust before and after completing each behavioral task. Although no group differences were observed for the number of steps completed on the behavioral approach tasks, those who viewed sexually arousing films reported significantly less change in disgust throughout the behavioral approach task compared to those who viewed positively arousing and neutral films. The potential clinical implications of the effects of sexual arousal on disgust responding in contamination-based OCD are discussed.