Contact Information
Email
Lab Website
(615) 322-0060
302 Wilson Hall
Research Area
Education
Ph.D., University of Arkansas
Current Courses
Abnormal Psychology
Fear and Anxiety
Advising
Bunmi O. Olatunji
Associate Professor of Psychology
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Director of Clinical Training
Olatunji's primary research interest lies in cognitive behavioral theory, assessment, and therapy for anxiety disorders. He is particularly interested in the role of basic emotions other than fear in the etiology of anxiety pathology. His current research employs basic descriptive and experimental psychopathology methodology to examine the relationship between the experience of disgust and specific anxiety disorder symptoms.
Representative Publications
- Olatunji, B. O., Armstrong, T., Fan, Q., & Zhao, M. (in press). Risk and resiliency in PTSD: Distinct roles of anxiety and disgust sensitivity. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
- Olatunji, B. O., Tomarken, A., & David, B. (in press). Disgust propensity potentiates evaluative learning of aversion. Emotion.
- Olatunji, B. O., Adams, T., Ciesielski, B., David, B., Sarawgi, S., & Broman-Fulks, J. (2012). The Three Domains of Disgust Scale: Factor structure, psychometric properties, and conceptual limitations. Assessment, 19, 205-225.
- Olatunji, B. O., Ciesielski, B., Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B, Wentworth, B. J., & Viar, M. (2012). Effects of experienced disgust on habituation during repeated exposure to threat-relevant stimuli in blood-injection-injury phobia. Behavior Therapy, 43, 132-141.
- Olatunji, B. O., David, B., & Ciesielski, B. (2012). Who am I to judge? Self-disgust predicts less punishment of severe transgressions. Emotion, 12, 169-173.
- Olatunji, B. O., Ebesutani, C., David, B., Fan, Q, & McGrath, P. (2011). Disgust proneness and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a clinical sample: Structural differentiation from negative affect. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 932-938.
- Olatunji, B. O., Huijding, J., de Jong, P., & Smits, J. A. (2011). The relative contributions of fear and disgust reductions to improvements in spider phobia following exposure-based treatment. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 42, 117-121.
- Olatunji, B. O., Tart, C., Ciesielski, B., McGrath, P. M., & Smits, J. A. J. (2011). Specificity of disgust vulnerability in the discrimination and treatment of OCD. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 45, 1236-1242.
- Olatunji, B. O. (2010). Change in disgust corresponds with change in symptoms of contamination-based OCD: A prospective examination of specificity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 313-317.
- Olatunji, B. O., Cisler, J. M., McKay, D., & Phillips, M. (2010). Is disgust associated with psychopathology? Emerging research in the anxiety disorders. Psychiatry Research, 175, 1-10.
- Olatunji, B. O., Moretz, M., Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., McKay, D., McGrath, P., & Ciesielski, B. (2010). Disgust vulnerability and symptoms of contamination-based OCD: Descriptive tests of incremental specificity. Behavior Therapy, 42, 475-490.
- Olatunji, B. O. (2009). Incremental specificity of disgust propensity and sensitivity in the prediction of health anxiety dimensions. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 40, 230-239.
- Olatunji, B. O., & Armstrong, T. (2009). Contamination fear and effects of disgust on distress in a public restroom. Emotion, 9, 592-597.
- Olatunji, B. O., Babson, K. A., Smith, R. C., Feldner, M. T., & Connolly, K. M. (2009). Gender as a moderator of the relation between PTSD and disgust: A laboratory test employing individualized script-driven imagery. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 1091-1097.
- Olatunji, B. O., Lohr, J. M., Smits, J.A.J., Sawchuk, C. N., & Patten, K. (2009). Evaluative conditioning of fear and disgust in blood-injection-injury phobia: Specificity and impact of individual differences in disgust sensitivity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 153-159.
- Olatunji, B. O., Moretz, M., McKay, D., Bjorklund, F., de Jong, P., Haidt, J., Hursti, T., Koller, S., Mancini, F., Page, A., & Schienle, A. (2009). Confirming the three-factor structure of the Disgust Scale-Revised in eight countries. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40, 234-255.
- Olatunji, B. O., Unkoka, Z., Beran, E., David, B., & Armstrong, T. (2009). Disgust sensitivity and psychopathological symptoms: Distinctions from harm avoidance. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31, 137-142.
- Olatunji, B. O., Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., Ciesielski, B., Armstrong, T., Etzel, E. & David, B. (2009). Fear and disgust processing during repeated exposure to threat-relevant stimuli in spider phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47, 671-679.
- Olatunji, B. O., Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., Willems, J., Lohr, J. M., & Armstrong, T. (2009). Differential habituation of fear and disgust during exposure to threat-relevant stimuli in contamination-based OCD: An analogue study. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 118-123.
- Olatunji, B. O. (2008). Disgust, scrupulosity and conservative attitudes about sex: Evidence for a mediational model of homophobia. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1364-1369.
- Olatunji, B. O., Cisler, J., Meunier, S., Connolly, K., & Lohr, J M. (2008). Expectancy bias for fear and disgust and behavioral avoidance in spider fearful individuals. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 460-469.
- Olatunji, B. O., Connolly, K. M., & David, B. (2008). Behavioral avoidance and self-reported fainting symptoms in blood-injury phobia: An experimental test of disgust domain specificity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 837-848.
- Olatunji, B. O., & Deacon, B. J. (2008). Specificity of disgust sensitivity in the prediction of fear and disgust responding to a brief spider exposure. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 328-336.
- Olatunji, B. O., Haidt, J., McKay, D., & David, B. (2008). Core, animal-reminder, and contamination disgust: Three kinds of disgust with distinct personality, behavioral, physiological, and clinical correlates. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1243-1259.
- Olatunji, B. O., & Broman-Fulks, J. (2007). A taxometric study of the latent structure of disgust sensitivity: Converging evidence for dimensionality. Psychological Assessment, 19, 437-448.
- Olatunji, B. O., Forsyth, J. P., & Cherian, A. (2007). Evaluative conditioning of disgust: A sticky form of relational learning that is resistant to extinction. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 820-834.
- Olatunji, B. O., & McKay, D. (2007). Disgust and psychiatric illness: Have we remembered? British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 457-459.
- Olatunji, B. O., Lohr, J. M., Sawchuk, C. N., & Tolin, D. F. (2007). Multimodal assessment of disgust in contamination-related obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 263-276.
- Olatunji, B. O., Williams, N., Lohr, J. M., Connolly, K., Cisler, J., & Meunier, S. (2007). Structural differentiation of disgust from trait anxiety in the prediction of specific anxiety disorder symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 3002-3017.
- Olatunji, B. O., Williams, N. L., Tolin, D. F., Sawchuk, C. N., Abramowitz, J. S., Lohr, J. M., & Elwood, L. (2007). The Disgust Scale: Item analysis, factor structure, and suggestions for refinement. Psychological Assessment, 19, 281-297.
- Olatunji, B.O., Sawchuk, C. N., de Jong, P. J., & Lohr, J. M. (2006). The structural relation between disgust sensitivity and blood-injection-injury fears: A cross-cultural comparison of U.S. and Dutch data. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 37, 16-29.
- Olatunji, B. O., Williams, N. L., Sawchuk, C. N., & Lohr, J. M. (2006). Disgust, anxiety and fainting symptoms associated with blood-injection-injury fears: A structural model. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 20, 23-41.
- Olatunji, B. O., & Sawchuk, C. N. (2005). Disgust: Characteristic features, social manifestations, and clinical implications. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 27, 932-962.
- Olatunji, B. O., Williams, N. L., Lohr, J. M., & Sawchuk, C. N. (2005). The structure of disgust: Domain specificity in relation to contamination ideation and excessive washing. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 1069-1086.
- Olatunji, B. O., Sawchuk, C. N., Lohr, J. M., & de Jong, P. J. (2004). Disgust domains in the prediction of contamination fear. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 93-104.