Individual Differences in the Behavioral Immune System and the Emergence of Cultural Systems

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 174-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russ Clay ◽  
John A. Terrizzi ◽  
Natalie J. Shook
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
System A ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Pathogen Prevalence

Cultural variation may be evoked through the interaction between domain-specific psychological mechanisms and environmental conditions (Gangestad, Haselton, & Buss, 2006 ). One such constellation of mechanisms is the behavioral immune system, a cluster of psychological processes evolved to promote disease-avoidance ( Schaller, 2006 ). Previous research demonstrated that higher levels of both historic and contemporary pathogen prevalence are predictive of collectivism across geopolitical regions ( Fincher, Thornhill, Murray, & Schaller, 2008 ). Across two studies, we demonstrate that individual differences in behavioral immune system reactivity (e.g., disgust sensitivity, germ aversion) are associated with variable endorsement of a vertical collectivist cultural orientation and differential value priorities, which are indicative of cultural differences. These findings provide support at an individual level for the proposition of evoked culture.

scholarly journals The Behavioral Immune System Shapes Political Intuitions: Why and How Individual Differences in Disgust Sensitivity Underlie Opposition to Immigration

2017 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
LENE AARØE ◽  
MICHAEL BANG PETERSEN ◽  
KEVIN ARCENEAUX
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
First Time ◽  
Representative Samples

We present, test, and extend a theoretical framework that connects disgust, a powerful basic human emotion, to political attitudes through psychological mechanisms designed to protect humans from disease. These mechanisms work outside of conscious awareness, and in modern environments, they can motivate individuals to avoid intergroup contact by opposing immigration. We report a meta-analysis of previous tests in the psychological sciences and conduct, for the first time, a series of tests in nationally representative samples collected in the United States and Denmark that integrate the role of disgust and the behavioral immune system into established models of emotional processing and political attitude formation. In doing so, we offer an explanation for why peaceful integration and interaction between ethnic majority and minorities is so hard to achieve.

Sick Body, Vigilant Mind

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 1467-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saul L. Miller ◽  
Jon K. Maner
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Interactive Nature ◽  
Biological Immune System ◽  
Recent Illness ◽  
Shed Light

Activation of the behavioral immune system has been shown to promote activation of the biological immune system. The current research tested the hypothesis that activation of the biological immune system (as a result of recent illness) promotes activation of the behavioral immune system. Participants who had recently been ill, and had therefore recently experienced activation of their biological immune system, displayed heightened attention to (Study 1) and avoidance of (Study 2) disfigured individuals—cognitive and behavioral processes reflecting activation of the behavioral immune system. These findings shed light on the interactive nature of biological and psychological mechanisms designed to help people overcome the threat of disease.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Infection-Avoidance Tendency and Exclusionary Attitudes towards Foreigners: A Case Study of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Japan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Yamagata ◽  
Tsukasa Teraguchi ◽  
Asako Miura
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Web Survey ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Psychological States ◽  
Avoidance Tendency ◽  
System A ◽  
Preventive Actions ◽  
The Relationship

Amidst the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020, this study focused on the preventive behaviours against COVID-19 infection and the exclusionary attitude towards foreigners in Japan. Particularly, we examined the effects of individual differences in the infection-avoidance tendency based on the behavioural immune system. A web survey of 1,248 Japanese citizens aged 18 years or above living in Japan who were registrants of a crowdsourcing service indicated that as the threat of the COVID-19 spread increased, there were tendencies for infection-preventive behaviours to increase. In addition, people with a strong infection-avoidance tendency adopted more preventive actions, regardless of whether they were under normal circumstances or the threat of infection, indicating their strong rejective attitudes towards the Chinese and other foreigners under the threat of infection. This study recorded the behavioural and psychological states of people who were in the midst of rapid and unpredictable real-world changes in the early stages of the infection. Data collected in Japan, where the infection had begun earlier, will provide valuable knowledge to countries worldwide where major social changes are expected in the future.

Threat of Infectious Disease

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Wang ◽  
Nicholas Michael Michalak ◽  
Joshua Ackerman
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
Human Personality ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Psychological Models ◽  
Motivational Structure

In this chapter, we consider whether individual differences might play role in how a behavioral immune system operates and what that implies for human personality. We first highlight the theoretical reasons to expect variation in pathogen management mechanisms and the psychological models relevant to these mechanisms (e.g., behavioral immune system, disgust). Next, we review research on the direct impact of pathogen threats on specific personality attributes. Subsequently, we place relevant individual differences within a motivational structure in order to organize specific content domains of personality linked to pathogen threats. Finally, we propose some unanswered questions for the field that may be promising directions for future research.

scholarly journals Generalized or Origin-Specific Out-Group Prejudice?: The Role of Temporary and Chronic Pathogen-Avoidance Motivation in Intergroup Relations

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 147470491982685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Ji ◽  
Joshua M. Tybur ◽  
Mark van Vugt
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Disgust Sensitivity ◽  
Total N ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Avoidance Motivation ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Pathogen Avoidance

Researchers have proposed that intergroup prejudice is partially caused by behavioral immune system mechanisms. Across four studies (total N = 1,849), we used both experimental (pathogen priming) and individual differences (pathogen disgust sensitivity [PDS]) approaches to test whether the behavioral immune system influences prejudice toward immigrants indiscriminately (the generalized out-group prejudice hypothesis) or specifically toward immigrants from a pathogen-rich ecology (the origin-specific out-group prejudice hypothesis). Internal meta-analyses lend some support to both hypotheses. At the experimental level, pathogen primes had no effect on attitudes toward origin-unspecified immigrants or immigrants from a pathogen-rich ecology. At the individual differences level, PDS has a unique negative effect on comfort with immigrants from pathogen-rich ecologies but not on comfort with immigrants from unspecified ecologies. However, pathogen disgust sensitivity was negatively related to the decision to allow entry to both origin-unspecified immigrants and immigrants from a pathogen-rich ecology.

scholarly journals The behavioral immune system: A multi-level reconsideration

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1865
Author(s):  
Ying YANG ◽  
Hui-Jun ZHU ◽  
Wan ZHOU ◽  
Ming-Yang ZHANG ◽  
Yi-Ping XIE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
System A ◽  
Multi Level

scholarly journals Exposure and Aversion to Human Transmissible Diseases Predict Conservative Ideological and Partisan Preferences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian O'Shea ◽  
Joseph A Vitriol ◽  
Christopher Federico ◽  
Jacob Appleby ◽  
Allison Williams
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
State Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Group Preference ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The U.S

The objective prevalence of and subjective vulnerability to infectious diseases are associated with greater in-group preference, conformity, and traditionalism. However, evidence directly testing the link between infectious diseases and political ideology and partisanship is lacking. Across four studies, including a large sample representative of the U.S. population (N > 12,000), we demonstrate that higher environmental levels of human transmissible diseases and avoidance of germs from human carriers predict conservative ideological and partisan preferences. During the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 848), we replicated this germ aversion finding and determined that these conservative preferences were primarily driven by avoidance of germs from out-groups (foreigners) rather than in-groups (locals). Moreover, socially conservative individuals expressed lower concerns of being susceptible to contracting infectious diseases during the pandemic and worried less about COVID-19. These effects were robust to individual-level and state-level controls. We discuss these findings in light of theory on parasite stress and the behavioral immune system, and with regard to the political implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Infection threat shapes our social instincts

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kramer ◽  
Paola Bressan
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Immune Systems ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Animal Domestication ◽  
System A ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
The Brain

AbstractWe social animals must balance the need to avoid infections with the need to interact with conspecifics. To that end we have evolved, alongside our physiological immune system, a suite of behaviors devised to deal with potentially contagious individuals. Focusing mostly on humans, the current review describes the design and biological innards of this behavioral immune system, laying out how infection threat shapes sociality and sociality shapes infection threat. The paper shows how the danger of contagion is detected and posted to the brain; how it affects individuals’ mate choice and sex life; why it strengthens ties within groups but severs those between them, leading to hostility toward anyone who looks, smells, or behaves unusually; and how it permeates the foundation of our moral and political views. This system was already in place when agriculture and animal domestication set off a massive increase in our population density, personal connections, and interaction with other species, amplifying enormously the spread of disease. Alas, pandemics such as COVID-19 not only are a disaster for public health, but, by rousing millions of behavioral immune systems, could prove a threat to harmonious cohabitation too.

scholarly journals Infection threat shapes our social instincts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kramer ◽  
Paola Bressan
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Immune Systems ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Animal Domestication ◽  
System A ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
The Brain

We social animals must balance the need to avoid infections with the need to interact with conspecifics. To that end we have evolved, alongside our physiological immune system, a suite of behaviors devised to deal with potentially contagious individuals. Focusing mostly on humans, the current review describes the design and biological innards of this behavioral immune system, laying out how infection threat shapes sociality and sociality shapes infection threat. The paper shows how the danger of contagion is detected and posted to the brain; how it affects individuals’ mate choice and sex life; why it strengthens ties within groups but severs those between them, leading to hostility toward anyone who looks, smells, or behaves unusually; and how it permeates the foundation of our moral and political views. This system was already in place when agriculture and animal domestication set off a massive increase in our population density, personal connections, and interaction with other species, amplifying enormously the spread of disease. Alas, pandemics such as COVID-19 not only are a disaster for public health, but, by rousing millions of behavioral immune systems, could prove a threat to harmonious cohabitation too.

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