Abstract
The present study investigated whether disgust-valenced information has an impact on children's fear beliefs about animals. Non-clinical children aged between 9 and 13 years (n=159) were presented with disgust-related and cleanliness-related information about unknown animals (Australian marsupials). Before and after information, beliefs of disgust and fear regarding the animals were assessed. Results showed that disgust-related information not only induced higher levels of disgust but also increased children's fear beliefs in relation to these animals. The other way around, cleanliness-related information decreased levels of disgust and resulted in lower levels of fear. The implications for the role of disgust in the development of animal fear are briefly discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 137-144 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Behaviour Research and Therapy |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2008 |
Keywords
- Animal fear
- Children
- Disgust
- Fear beliefs
- Instructional learning