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3 DISCONFIRMING CONTAMINATION-RELATED THREAT BELIEFS 71 Measures CFDD, expectations regarding the effectiveness of the intervention, and perceived control were measured cf. van den Hout et al. (2011; Measures). Padua inventory – contamination obsessions and washing compulsions subscale (PI-COWC) The PI-COWC (Burns et al., 1996) was used for screening individuals on contamination fear. This 10-item (rated on a scale from 0 [ not at all ] to 4 [ very much ]) self-report measure was translated to Dutch, and item 6 was modernized by changing it from “I avoid using public telephones, because I am afraid of contagion and disease” to “I avoid using handrails in public places, because I am afraid of contagion and disease”. The PI-COWC shows good test-retest reliability, r = .72, and internal consistency, α = .85 (Burns et al., 1996), in this sample, Cronbach’s α = .88. Contaminants In a pilot study prior to the experiment, 10 contaminants that were used in previous studies (Rachman et al., 2011; van den Hout et al., 2011; Levy & Radomsky, 2014) were presented to 10 student volunteers. The procedure was similar to the pre-test measurement procedure (see 2.2.1). The six items that elicited the highest contamination ratings were selected for the experiment: 1 1) Shoe: Participants were asked to rub the bottom of their shoe with one hand. 2) Hair: Human hair was collected and placed in a small plastic container. 3) Garbage: A small garbage can was presented to the participant. The items inside included actual (safe) garbage collected by the experimenters, such as food wrappers, used coffee cups, a diaper made to look dirty with tea, an unused condom with hand gel inside, and a clean tampon wrapped in toilet paper. 1 Details about the nature and findings of the pilot study can be obtained from the first author.