Measuring State Disgust: Initial Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of an English-Language Version of the Ekel-State-Fragebogen

Appeals to disgust may become an important tool in health communication messaging. There is little empirical support for measures of induced disgust in the communication literature. The aim of the present analysis was to evaluate an English-language version of the German State Disgust Scale (the Ekel-State-Fragebogen) as a candidate measure for state disgust. A key advantage of this scale is that it measures both subjective feeling and motor expression of disgust. Data from an initial pilot test of the German State Disgust Scale indicate that the measure demonstrates internal reliability as well as convergent, divergent (from fear and anger), and discriminant validity. The German State Disgust Scale is advocated as a potential measure for assessing induced state disgust.