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Disgust, Need for Affect, and Responses to Microbiome Research

Mon, May 29, 15:30 to 16:45, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Floor: 2, Indigo 204A

Abstract

Contributing to the literature on affective processing and attitude formation, this study investigates the effects of a discrete emotion (disgust) and an emotional disposition (need for affect) in the context of microbiome research. Specifically, the investigation aims to unpack how need for affect, the motivation to approach or avoid emotions, moderates the emotional pathway from disgust-eliciting content to support for regulation. Data from a Web-based experiment (N=1005) showed that experienced disgust mediated the effect of disgust-eliciting information on support for regulation. This mediation was moderated by need for affect, with the locus of moderation residing in the relationship between experienced disgust and support for regulation, but not that between message exposure and experienced disgust. Furthermore, the two dimensions of need for affect (emotion approach and emotion avoidance) played different moderating roles such that emotional approach amplified the disgust-attitude relationship whereas emotional avoidance attenuated it.

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