scholarly journals Social distancing from foreign individuals as a disease-avoidance mechanism: Testing the assumptions of the behavioral immune system theory during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Szymkow ◽  
Natalia Frankowska ◽  
Katarzyna Gałasińska
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Mediational Models

Topics of prejudice, discrimination, and negative attitudes toward outgroups have attracted much attention of social scientists during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the preference for social distancing can originate from the perception of threat. One of the theoretical approaches that offers an explanation for avoidance tendencies is the behavioral immune system theory. As a motivational system that aims to identify and avoid pathogens, the behavioral immune system has been shown to be triggered by various cues of a potential disease threat (e.g., the risk of contracting a virus), which further leads to negative social consequences such as xenophobia, negative attitudes toward various social groups, and distancing tendencies. We present a correlational study (N = 588; Polish sample) that was designed to test mediational models derived from the behavioral immune system theory, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a source of natural disease threat. In serial mediation analyses we show that the perceived threat of COVID-19 translates into greater preferred social distance from foreign individuals, and that this occurs in two ways: 1) via pathogen disgust (but not sexual or moral disgust), and 2) via germ aversion (but not perceived infectability). Both pathogen disgust and germ aversion further predict general feelings toward foreign individuals, which finally determine the preferred social distance from these individuals. The results support the behavioral immune system theory as an important concept for understanding social distancing tendencies.

scholarly journals Testing the Disgust-Based Mechanism of Homonegative Attitudes in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Szymkow ◽  
Natalia Frankowska ◽  
Katarzyna Galasinska
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Defense Mechanisms ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Perceived Vulnerability ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Functional Flexibility ◽  
Sexual Disgust ◽  
Perceived Vulnerability To Disease

Negative attitudes and stigmatization can originate from the perception of a disease-related threat. Following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is often suggested that incidents of discriminatory behavior are the result of defense mechanisms aimed at avoiding pathogens. According to the behavioral immune system theory, people are motivated to distance themselves from individuals who show signs of infection, or who are only heuristically associated with a disease, primarily because of the disgust they evoke. In this paper we focus on negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians who are among social groups that have been persistently framed as “unclean.” In our correlational study (N = 500 heterosexual participants; Polish sample data collected during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Poland, in March/April 2020) we tested moderation models derived from the behavioral immune system theory. Specifically, we investigated whether perceived vulnerability to disease and perceived threat of contracting COVID-19 moderate the relation between disgust and homonegativity. We found that sexual disgust (but not pathogen nor moral disgust) predicted homonegative attitudes. This effect was stronger for participants expressing higher levels of perceived vulnerability to disease but was not dependent on the perception of the COVID-19 threat. The results reaffirm previous evidence indicating a pivotal role of disgust in disease-avoidance mechanisms. They also point to functional flexibility of the behavioral immune system by demonstrating the moderating role of perceived vulnerability to disease in shaping homonegative attitudes. Finally, they show that the threat of COVID-19 does not strengthen the relationship between disgust and homonegativity.

The Behavioral Immune System and Attitudes About Vaccines

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russ Clay
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Disgust Sensitivity ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
The Future ◽  
Sources Of Contamination

The present research utilized evolutionary theory to examine the relation between the behavioral immune system (i.e., disgust sensitivity) and attitudes about vaccines. The findings from the studies suggest that higher levels of dispositional disgust sensitivity is predictive of more negative attitudes toward vaccines. These findings are consistent with several recent publications and thus have broad implications for public health research associated with vaccines. In Study 1, participants reporting higher dispositional disgust sensitivity (specifically, contamination disgust) tended to report more negative attitudes about vaccines. Study 2 replicated this result in a nonstudent sample using additional measures of disgust sensitivity more closely associated with aversion to perceived sources of contamination. Study 2 also revealed that beliefs about the likelihood of contracting illness in the future were unrelated to vaccine attitudes. Implications for the observed relation between intuitive aversion to contamination and vaccine attitudes are discussed.

scholarly journals Contagious Health Risk and Precautionary Social Distancing

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helge Giese ◽  
Martina Gamp ◽  
F. Marijn Stok ◽  
Wolfgang Gaissmaier ◽  
Harald T. Schupp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Measuring Point ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Contagious Diseases

BackgroundSince humans are social animals, social relations are incredibly important. However, in cases of contagious diseases such as the flu, social contacts also pose a health risk. According to prominent health behavior change theories, perceiving a risk for one’s health motivates precautionary behaviors. The “behavioral immune system” approach suggests that social distancing might be triggered as a precautionary, evolutionarily learned behavior to prevent transmitting contagious diseases through social contact. This study examines the link between personal risk perception for an infectious disease and precautionary behavior for disease-prevention in the context of social relationships.MethodsAt 2-week intervals during the first semester, 100 Psychology freshmen indicated their flu risk perception, whether they had been ill during the previous week, and their friendships within their freshmen network for eight time points.ResultsSocial network analysis revealed that participants who reported a high flu risk perception listed fewer friends (B = −0.10, OR = 0.91, p = 0.026), and were more likely to be ill at the next measuring point (B = 0.26, OR = 1.30, p = 0.005). Incoming friendship nominations increased the likelihood of illness (B = 0.14, OR = 1.15, p = 0.008), while the reduced number of friendship nominations only marginally decreased this likelihood (B = −0.07, OR = 0.93, p = 0.052).ConclusionIn accordance with the concept of a “behavioral immune system,” participants with high flu risk perception displayed a social precautionary distancing even when in an environment, in which the behavior was ineffective to prevent an illness.

scholarly journals Exploring the role of the behavioral immune system in acceptability of entomophagy using semantic associations and food-related attitudes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Qian ◽  
Yuki Yamada
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Processed Food ◽  
Semantic Association ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
The World ◽  
Semantic Associations ◽  
Multiple Domains

Entomophagy refers to eating insects. Insect food, including cooked insects and other processed food with insect-based ingredients, is consumed in many regions of the world as a part of traditional dietary behavior, or as innovative functional food. However, many people especially in western or industrialized societies have shown negative attitudes such as resistance or disgust to entomophagy. In this study, we examined the acceptability of eating insects from the context of the behavioral immune system (BIS), by employing a questionnaire survey and picture-based semantic association experiment. We collected data from 1369 Japanese participants (581 females and 788 males, mean age = 43.41 years, SD = 10.44 years) by conducting an online survey. The results revealed the influence of the behavioral immune system on entomophagy: The semantic associations between insect food and non-insect food, and between insect food and pathogens were significantly predicted by multiple domains related to the attitudes, concerns, and experience of food and pathogens. The semantic associations between insect food and pathogens were significantly stronger than other associations. People who concentrate on food safety and hygiene revealed fewer associations between insect food and non-insect food. These results indicated that promoting the sanitary and hygienic image of insect food may reduce revulsion at entomophagy and promote uptake.

Recent Attitudes toward ADHD in the Broader Community: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 108705472110036
Author(s):  
Matthew Bisset ◽  
Leanne Winter ◽  
Christel M. Middeldorp ◽  
David Coghill ◽  
Nardia Zendarski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Community Attitudes ◽  
Standardized Protocol

Objective: This review aimed to understand the broader community’s attitudes toward ADHD, which could facilitate public health interventions to improve outcomes for individuals with ADHD. Methods: A standardized protocol identified peer-reviewed studies focusing on attitudes of broader community samples, published from January 2014 to February 2020 (inclusive). Results: A total of 1,318 articles were screened and 10 studies were included, examining attitudes of broader community samples from Australia, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Korea, Indonesia, and the United States. Findings revealed that broader community samples displayed varying degrees of ADHD-related knowledge, negative attitudes (that ADHD is over-diagnosed; that pharmacological treatment is not acceptable; that those with ADHD are more likely to exhibit poor behavior), and a desire for maintaining social distance from individuals with ADHD. Conclusion: Findings suggest that community attitudes are generally negative toward those with ADHD. Targeted mental health literacy could provide an important avenue for improving the broader community’s attitudes toward those with ADHD.

scholarly journals Examining the interplay between face mask usage, asymptomatic transmission, and social distancing on the spread of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Catching ◽  
Sara Capponi ◽  
Ming Te Yeh ◽  
Simone Bianco ◽  
Raul Andino
Keyword(s):  
Social Distance ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
The Face ◽  
Asymptomatic Individuals ◽  
High Virus

AbstractCOVID-19’s high virus transmission rates have caused a pandemic that is exacerbated by the high rates of asymptomatic and presymptomatic infections. These factors suggest that face masks and social distance could be paramount in containing the pandemic. We examined the efficacy of each measure and the combination of both measures using an agent-based model within a closed space that approximated real-life interactions. By explicitly considering different fractions of asymptomatic individuals, as well as a realistic hypothesis of face masks protection during inhaling and exhaling, our simulations demonstrate that a synergistic use of face masks and social distancing is the most effective intervention to curb the infection spread. To control the pandemic, our models suggest that high adherence to social distance is necessary to curb the spread of the disease, and that wearing face masks provides optimal protection even if only a small portion of the population comply with social distance. Finally, the face mask effectiveness in curbing the viral spread is not reduced if a large fraction of population is asymptomatic. Our findings have important implications for policies that dictate the reopening of social gatherings.

scholarly journals Behavioral immune system activity predicts downregulation of chronic basal inflammation

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. e0203961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Gassen ◽  
Marjorie L. Prokosch ◽  
Anastasia Makhanova ◽  
Micah J. Eimerbrink ◽  
Jordon D. White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
System Activity ◽  
Behavioral Immune System

scholarly journals Ethno-Religious Identification and Social Distance Between Muslims and Christians: Analysis on Social Identity Theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Cahyo Pamungkas
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Identity Theory ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Religious Identification ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Individual

This article aims to investigate the relationship between ethno-religious identity and the social distancebetween Muslims and Christians in Ambon and Yogyakarta, taking into account factors at the individual level.Also, this research is addressed to fll a gap in the literature between studies that emphasize economic andpolitical competition as the main sources of con?ict, and studies that focus on prejudice and discriminationas causes of con?ict. The central question is: to what extent is ethno-religious identifcation present amongMuslims and Christians in Ambon and Yogyakarta and observable in their daily lives? This research usessocial identity theory that attempts to question why people like their in-group, and dislike out-groups. Thetheory says that individuals struggle for positive in-group distinctiveness, and have positive attitudes towardtheir in-group and negative attitudes towards out-groups. This research uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A survey was conducted with 1500 university students from six universities in Ambon andYogyakarta. By using quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis, this study came up with several fndings. Firstly, the study found high levels of religious identifcation among Muslim and Christian respondents,demonstrated by their participation in religious practices, which we defne as frequency of praying, attendingreligious services, and reading the Holy Scriptures. Secondly, social distance consists of contact avoidance,avoidance of future spouses from another religion, and the support for residential segregation. Di?erencesfrom the mean show that Muslim respondents tend to display higher contact avoidance and support forresidential segregation compared to Christian respondents. Thirdly, analysis of variance demonstrates thatelements of ethno-religious identity are related signifcantly to elements of social distance.

scholarly journals Social Distancing and COVID-19: Factors Associated With Compliance With Social Distancing Norms in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estrella Gualda ◽  
Andre Krouwel ◽  
Marisol Palacios-Gálvez ◽  
Elena Morales-Marente ◽  
Iván Rodríguez-Pascual ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Distance ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Distance Measures ◽  
Spanish Population ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Factors Associated

This article describes patterns of compliance with social distancing measures among the Spanish population during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It identifies several factors associated with higher or lower compliance with recommended measures of social distancing. This research is part of a 67-country study, titled the International COVID-19 study on Social & Moral Psychology, in which we use a Spanish dataset. Participants were residents in Spain aged 18 or above. The sample comprises 1,090 respondents, weighted to be representative of the Spanish population. Frequencies, correlations, bivariate analysis, and six models based on hierarchical multiple regressions were applied. The main finding is that most Spaniards are compliant with established guidelines of social distance during the pandemic (State of Alarm, before May 2020). Variables associated more with lower levels of compliance with these standards were explored. Six hierarchical multiple regression models found that compliance with social distance measures has a multifactorial explanation (R2 between 20.4 and 49.1%). Sociodemographic factors, personal hygiene patterns, and the interaction between personal hygiene patterns and the support for political measures related to the coronavirus brought significant effects on the regression models. Less compliance was also associated with beliefs in some specific conspiracy theories with regard to COVID-19 or general conspiracy mentality (Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire, CMQ), consumption patterns of traditional mass media (television, paper newspapers, magazines, and radio) and modern means to get informed (online digital newspapers, blogs, and social networks), political ideology, vote, trust in institutions, and political identification. Among the future lines of action in preventing the possible outbreak of the virus, we suggest measures to reinforce trust in official information, mainly linked to reducing the influence of disinformation and conspiracy theories parallel to the pandemic.

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