The source effect: development of a scale and assessment of the influence of self-esteem

The source effect for disgust is the tendency for disgust elicitors emanating from unfamiliar others to elicit higher levels of disgust than those emanating from the self or close others (Case, Repacholi & Stevenson, 2006; Repacholi & Stevenson, 2005). Prior to this research, there was no distinct measure for the source effect. One of the reasons for this was the source effect has been compared to self-disgust which already has existing measurement tools. In Study 1 (N = 189), to demonstrate that the source effect is different to self-disgust, a valid and reliable measure of the source effect was developed and administered with measures of self-concept, self-disgust and disgust sensitivity. Findings indicate that self-disgust is more likened to an intense experience of shame as oppose to disgust. The source effect measure was revealed to be a reliable measure of the source effect, although it did not relate with disgust sensitivity, suggesting there are potentially other influential factors for the source effect. In Study 2 (N = 16), a behavioural measure of the source effect was implemented through a priming and stimulus engagement experiment. Participants were primed to a shame, anger or neutral condition and then were tested for the source effect towards disgust elicitors from the self and an unknown stranger. Preliminary findings suggest that shame may cause an individual to become more avoidant of their own disgust elicitors. Potential utility of the new measures and future research directions are discussed.