Covert sensitization, stimulus relevance and the equipotentiality premise

Covert sensitization and related cognitive aversive techniques have been widely used and reviewed but, to date, the issue of the quality and relevance of the aversive imagery selected has yet to be investigated. In the present study, Ss were given a target substance to consume and then presented with narratives designed to elicit either nausea, anxiety or relaxation. The nausea and anxiety scenes were rated as equally aversive but there was a significant reduction in consumption only within the taste-nausea imagery group. These results are consistent with those obtained from the study of taste aversion in infra-human Ss where taste has been shown to associate preferentially with nausea. The present results call into question the validity of the ‘equipotentiality premise’ in cognition. The implications of these findings for the clinical application and evaluation of covert sensitization are discussed.