Trypophobia refers to disgust for a cluster of objects, and is considered an extension of disgust for dangerous objects. Furthermore, trypophobic images possess certain spatial properties that can induce perceptually unpleasant states (i.e., visual discomfort). We examined whether trypophobia is associated with disgust sensitivity, empathic traits, and visual discomfort. Japanese adults (n = 126) completed four scales: the Trypophobia Questionnaire, which measures trypophobia proneness; the Disgust Scale-Revised, which measures disgust sensitivity; the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, which measures empathic traits; and the Visual Discomfort Scale, which measures proneness to visual discomfort. Trypophobia proneness was found to be predicted by Core disgust sensitivity (i.e., threat of disease), Personal Distress (i.e., the empathic trait of self-oriented emotional distress), and proneness to visual discomfort. We suggest a number of potential factors relating to individual differences in trypophobia and the possible cognitive and perceptual mechanisms underlying trypophobia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40064-016-3149-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Abstract:The photomontage of lotus seedpods on human skin has been called "Hasu-colla" in Japan, and this can elicit strong aversion in viewers. Previous studies have reported that lotus seedpods evoke core disgust, and that Hasu-colla relates to animal reminder disgust. However, the relationship between unpleasantness evoked by lotus seedpods and that by Hasu-colla has not been demonstrated. The present study investigated whether Hasu-colla evokes stronger disgust than lotus seedpods presented alone as well as differences between background objects (from animal to stone) in evoking aversion. Hasu-colla induced stronger unpleasantness than did lotus seedpods and background objects presented alone (Exp. 1 and 2). The amplification of unpleasantness was weakest in stones and strongest in dogs among animals (Exp. 2). Lotus seedpods, which are related to disgust for clusters, evoke strong feelings of contamination, supporting the possibility that such clusters are associated with scars and sores. Keywords: Hasu-colla (Lotus-seed-pods-on-the-living-body), Disgust, TrypophobiaFigure 1: We defined Hasu-colla as placing lotus seedpods on a background object.

A cluster of dots such as lotus seed pods evokes extremely strong disgust when it is placed on human and animal skins. However, few empirical studies have examined the role of the background image, such as skin, in the generation of disgust. In this study, we investigated whether the orientation of background faces influences the disgust evoked by the dot pattern. The participants were asked to evaluate disgust to an upright, inverted, or phase-scrambled face image with or without a cluster of dots on it and then complete a questionnaire measuring trypophobia proneness (Trypophobia Questionnaire). The results suggested that disgust was intensified by the background faces, especially by the upright faces. The intensification of disgust in the upright face was correlated positively with the Trypophobia Questionnaire scores. The results indicated a face-inversion effect on the disgust to the dot pattern, suggesting a significant role of the background image.

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