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Tolchinsky A, Ellis GFR, Levin M, Kaňková Š, Burgdorf JS. Disgust as a primary emotional system and its clinical relevance. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1454774. [PMID: 39295749 PMCID: PMC11409098 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1454774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2024] [Accepted: 08/16/2024] [Indexed: 09/21/2024] Open
Abstract
This paper advocates for considering disgust as a primary emotional system within Panksepp's Affective Neuroscience framework, which has the potential to improve the efficacy of psychotherapy with obsessive-compulsive disorder, hypochondriasis, and emetophobia. In 2007, Toronchuk and Ellis provided comprehensive evidence that DISGUST system, as they defined it, matched all Panksepp's criteria for a primary emotional system. A debate ensued and was not unambiguously resolved. This paper is an attempt to resume this discussion and supplement it with the data that accumulated since then on DISGUST's relationship with the immune system and the role of DISGUST dysregulation in psychopathology. We hope that renewed research interest in DISGUST has the potential to improve clinical efficacy with hard-to-treat conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexey Tolchinsky
- Professional Psychology Program, George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - George F R Ellis
- Department of Mathematics, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Michael Levin
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Šárka Kaňková
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jeffrey S Burgdorf
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Falk Center for Molecular Therapeutics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
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Kaňková Š, Dlouhá D, Ullmann J, Velíková M, Včelák J, Hill M. Association between Disgust Sensitivity during Pregnancy and Endogenous Steroids: A Longitudinal Study. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6857. [PMID: 38999978 PMCID: PMC11241696 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25136857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The emotion of disgust protects individuals against pathogens, and it has been found to be elevated during pregnancy. Physiological mechanisms discussed in relation to these changes include immune markers and progesterone levels. This study aimed to assess the association between steroids and disgust sensitivity in pregnancy. Using a prospective longitudinal design, we analyzed blood serum steroid concentrations and measured disgust sensitivity via text-based questionnaires in a sample of 179 pregnant women during their first and third trimesters. We found positive correlations between disgust sensitivity and the levels of C19 steroids (including testosterone) and its precursors in the Δ5 pathway (androstenediol, DHEA, and their sulfates) and the Δ4 pathway (androstenedione). Additionally, positive correlations were observed with 5α/β-reduced C19 steroid metabolites in both trimesters. In the first trimester, disgust sensitivity was positively associated with 17-hydroxypregnanolone and with some estrogens. In the third trimester, positive associations were observed with cortisol and immunoprotective Δ5 C19 7α/β-hydroxy-steroids. Our findings show that disgust sensitivity is positively correlated with immunomodulatory steroids, and in the third trimester, with steroids which may be related to potential maternal-anxiety-related symptoms. This study highlights the complex relationship between hormonal changes and disgust sensitivity during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Šárka Kaňková
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic; (Š.K.); (D.D.); (J.U.)
| | - Daniela Dlouhá
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic; (Š.K.); (D.D.); (J.U.)
| | - Jana Ullmann
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic; (Š.K.); (D.D.); (J.U.)
| | - Marta Velíková
- Department of Steroids and Proteofactors, Institute of Endocrinology, Národní 8, 116 94 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Josef Včelák
- Department of Molecular Endocrinology, Institute of Endocrinology, Národní 8, 116 94 Prague, Czech Republic;
| | - Martin Hill
- Department of Steroids and Proteofactors, Institute of Endocrinology, Národní 8, 116 94 Prague, Czech Republic;
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Fukano Y, Soga M. Evolutionary psychology of entomophobia and its implications for insect conservation. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 59:101100. [PMID: 37562652 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Many people, especially those living in developed countries, exhibit irrational negative feelings (e.g. fear, disgust, and aversion) toward insects. This so-called 'entomophobia' has often been suggested as a key contributing factor to the ongoing global decline in insects. However, this topic has not been well-investigated. From this point of view, we discuss the formation processes of entomophobia and its consequences from an evolutionary psychological perspective. Adopting the concept of the behavioral immune system, we suggest that the negative responses toward insects exhibited by modern people are driven by a series of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral traits that evolved to avoid infectious diseases. We then provide several strategic recommendations for mitigating the prevalence of entomophobia and a roadmap for better understanding how individual-level entomophobia can influence insect conservation. Understanding the human psychological dimension behind the ongoing decline of insects will provide useful insight on how best to mitigate this decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuya Fukano
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
| | - Masashi Soga
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Dlouhá D, Roberts SC, Hlaváčová J, Nouzová K, Kaňková Š. Longitudinal changes in disgust sensitivity during pregnancy and the early postpartum period, and the role of recent health problems. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4752. [PMID: 36959238 PMCID: PMC10036647 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31060-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Disgust is an essential part of the behavioral immune system, protecting the individual from infection. According to the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis (CPH), disgust sensitivity increases in times of immunosuppression, potentially including pregnancy. We aimed to replicate a previous study observing longitudinal changes in disgust sensitivity in pregnant women. Additionally, for the first time, we explored how recent health problems influence these changes. To do this, we obtained disgust sensitivity measures from 94 women in each trimester and in early postpartum. In contrast to the original study, where disgust sensitivity was highest in the first trimester, we found that overall and animal reminder disgust increased across pregnancy and after birth. In line with the CPH, women who were recently sick in the first trimester had elevated disgust sensitivity at that time. Although disgust sensitivity was significantly higher in the second trimester and postpartum period compared to the first trimester in mothers pregnant with a male fetus, the overall results regarding the effect of fetus sex on disgust sensitivity were mixed. It seems that changing levels of disgust sensitivity during pregnancy and postpartum result from a suite of physiological and psychological changes that occur during this sensitive period of a woman's life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Dlouhá
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - S Craig Roberts
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Jana Hlaváčová
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Kamila Nouzová
- ProfiGyn, S.R.O., Municipal Health Centre Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Šárka Kaňková
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Kaňková Š, Takács L, Hlaváčová J, Calda P, Monk C, Havlíček J. Disgust sensitivity in early pregnancy as a response to high pathogen risk. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1015927. [PMID: 36923149 PMCID: PMC10009253 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1015927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Considered a part of the behavioral immune system (BIS), disgust sensitivity is expected to be adjusting as a response to the actual level of the environmental health risks. Methods In this preregistered study, we tested the hypothesis that disgust sensitivity would be higher during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period in pregnant women. In this between-subject study with a longitudinal trend design, we administered the Disgust Scale-Revised to 200 pregnant women before the pandemic and to 350 pregnant women during the pandemic. Results We found a small but significant effect of the pandemic on disgust sensitivity, such that higher disgust sensitivity was found in women pregnant during the pandemic. This effect was stronger in primiparae, however, the interaction between parity and the pandemic period was not significant. Disgust sensitivity decreased with age. No differences in terms of nausea and vomiting were found between the women pregnant before and during the pandemic. Discussion Our findings indicate that although BIS is presumed to function as a complex mechanism to prevent health-threatening behaviors, its activation in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic is rather weak.
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Affiliation(s)
- Šárka Kaňková
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Lea Takács
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jana Hlaváčová
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Pavel Calda
- Fetal Medicine Centre, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital, Prague, Czechia
| | - Catherine Monk
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States.,Division of Behavioral Medicine, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Jan Havlíček
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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Disgust sensitivity is negatively associated with immune system activity in early pregnancy: Direct support for the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Stefanczyk MM, Lizak K, Kowal M, Sorokowska A. “May I present you: my disgust!” – Declared disgust sensitivity in the presence of attractive models. Br J Psychol 2022; 113:739-757. [DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Katarzyna Lizak
- Faculty of Medical Sciences Medical University of Silesia Zabrze Poland
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Puleo S, Braghieri A, Pacelli C, Bendini A, Toschi TG, Torri L, Piochi M, Di Monaco R. Food Neophobia, Odor and Taste Sensitivity, and Overall Flavor Perception in Food. Foods 2021; 10:foods10123122. [PMID: 34945673 PMCID: PMC8702209 DOI: 10.3390/foods10123122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Smell, which allows us to gather information about the hedonic value of an odor, is affected by many factors. This study aimed to assess the relationship among individual factors, odor sensitivity, and enjoyment, and to evaluate how overall flavor perception and liking in actual food samples are affected by odor sensitivity. A total of 749 subjects, from four different Italian regions, participated in the study. The olfactory capabilities test on four odors (anise, banana, mint, and pine), as well as PROP (6-n-prpyl-2-thiouracil) status and food neophobia were assessed. The subjects were clustered into three groups of odor sensitivity, based on the perceived intensity of anise. The liking and intensity of the overall flavor were evaluated for four chocolate puddings with increasing sweetness (C1, C2, C3, and C4). The individual variables significantly affected the perceived intensity and liking of the odors. Even if all of the odor sensitivity groups perceived the more intensely flavored samples as the C1 and C4 chocolate puddings, the high-sensitivity group scored the global flavor of all of the samples as more intense than the low-sensitivity group. The low-sensitive subjects evaluated the liking of the sweeter samples with higher scores than the moderate-sensitive subjects, whereas the high-sensitive subjects gave intermediate scores. In conclusion, odor sensitivity plays a pivotal role in the perception and liking of real food products; this has to be taken into account in the formulation of new products, suitable for particular categories with reduced olfactory abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Puleo
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Food Science and Technology Division, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy; (S.P.); (R.D.M.)
| | - Ada Braghieri
- School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0971-205101
| | - Corrado Pacelli
- School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy;
| | - Alessandra Bendini
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DiSTAL), University of Bologna, Piazza Goidanich 60, 47521 Cesena, Italy; (A.B.); (T.G.T.)
| | - Tullia Gallina Toschi
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DiSTAL), University of Bologna, Piazza Goidanich 60, 47521 Cesena, Italy; (A.B.); (T.G.T.)
| | - Luisa Torri
- Sensory and Consumer Science, University of Gastronomic Sciences, 12042 Pollenzo, Italy; (L.T.); (M.P.)
| | - Maria Piochi
- Sensory and Consumer Science, University of Gastronomic Sciences, 12042 Pollenzo, Italy; (L.T.); (M.P.)
| | - Rossella Di Monaco
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Food Science and Technology Division, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy; (S.P.); (R.D.M.)
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Miłkowska K, Galbarczyk A, Klimek M, Zabłocka-Słowińska K, Jasienska G. Pathogen disgust, but not moral disgust, changes across the menstrual cycle. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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11
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Ding Y, Yang J, Ji T, Guo Y. Women Suffered More Emotional and Life Distress than Men during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Pathogen Disgust Sensitivity. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:8539. [PMID: 34444288 PMCID: PMC8394728 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18168539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The outbreak of the COVID-19 has brought upon unprecedented challenges to nearly all people around the globe. Yet, people may differ in their risks of social, economic, and health well-being. In this research, we take a gender-difference approach to examine whether and why women suffered greater emotional and life distress than men at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Using a large nationwide Chinese sample, we found that compared to men, women reported higher levels of anxiety and fear, as well as greater life disturbance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, that women suffered more was partly explained by their higher level of pathogen disgust sensitivity. Our findings highlight the important consequences of gender differences in response to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest that policymakers pay more attention to gender inequalities regarding COVID-19 responses.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Tingting Ji
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 201097, China; (Y.D.); (J.Y.); (Y.G.)
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Hromatko I, Tonković M, Vranic A. Trust in Science, Perceived Vulnerability to Disease, and Adherence to Pharmacological and Non-pharmacological COVID-19 Recommendations. Front Psychol 2021; 12:664554. [PMID: 33995222 PMCID: PMC8119629 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.664554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Protection motivation theory (PMT) is a theoretical framework informative for understanding behavioral intentions and choices during exceptional and uncommon circumstances, such as a pandemic of respiratory infectious disease. PMT postulates both the threat appraisal and the coping appraisal as predictors of health behaviors. Recent advances in the field of behavioral immune system (BIS) research suggest that humans are equipped with a set of psychological adaptations enabling them to detect the disease-threat and activate behavioral avoidance of pathogens. The present study, set within PMT framework and informed by the BIS research, aimed to explain and predict voluntary adherence to COVID-19 guidelines by perceived personal risk and vulnerability to disease as threat appraisal variables, and trust in science as the response efficacy element of coping appraisal. Gender, age, belief in the second wave, perceived personal risk, germ aversion, and trust in science were all found to be significant positive predictors of the intent to adhere to non-pharmacological COVID-19 recommendations, with the belief in the second wave, germ aversion, and trust in science being the most important ones. On the other hand, only the belief in the second wave and trust in science were significant positive predictors of the intent to adhere to pharmacological COVID-19 recommendations (i.e., to vaccinate). Interventions aimed at enhancing preventative measures adherence should take into account that the psychological mechanisms underlying adherence to these two types of recommendations are not identical.
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Hromatko I, Grus A, Kolđeraj G. Do Islanders Have a More Reactive Behavioral Immune System? Social Cognitions and Preferred Interpersonal Distances During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front Psychol 2021; 12:647586. [PMID: 33995203 PMCID: PMC8120299 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Insular populations have traditionally drawn a lot of attention from epidemiologists as they provide important insights regarding transmission of infectious diseases and propagation of epidemics. There are numerous historical instances where isolated populations showed high morbidity once a new virus entered the population. Building upon that and recent findings that the activation of the behavioral immune system (BIS) depends both upon one's vulnerability and environmental context, we predicted that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, place of residence (island vs. mainland) explains a significant proportion of variance in preferred interpersonal distances, animosity toward strangers, and willingness to punish those who do not adhere to COVID-19 preventive measures. With 48 populated islands, Croatia provides a fruitful testing ground for this prediction. We also opted to explore relations among BIS-related variables (pathogen disgust, germ aversion, and perceived infectability) and social cognitions in a more natural context than has previously been done. The study was conducted online, on Croatian residents, during April and May 2020. As expected, the BIS variables contributed significantly to preferred interpersonal distances, negative emotions toward strangers, and willingness to punish those who do not adhere to COVID-19 preventive measures. Furthermore, our results showed that geographical location explained a significant amount of variance in preferred social (but not personal and intimate) distances and negative emotions toward foreigners. As Croatian islands are extremely frequent travel destinations, these differences between mainlanders and islanders cannot be explained by the lack of exposure to foreigners. Additionally, we found that scores on preferred interpersonal distances, pathogen disgust, and germ aversion were significantly higher compared to those obtained in Croatian samples before the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, men scored higher in perceived infectability than before the COVID-19 pandemic, and women did not, which reflects the objectively higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 for men than for women. Taken together, our results support the notion that BIS is a highly adaptive and context-dependent response system, likely more reactive in more susceptible individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Hromatko
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Andrea Grus
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Gabrijela Kolđeraj
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
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Miłkowska K, Galbarczyk A, Mijas M, Jasienska G. Disgust Sensitivity Among Women During the COVID-19 Outbreak. Front Psychol 2021; 12:622634. [PMID: 33833715 PMCID: PMC8021948 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.622634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The emotion of disgust is suggested to be an adaptation that evolved to keep us away from sources of infection. Therefore, individuals from populations with greater pathogen stress should have a greater disgust sensitivity. However, current evidence for a positive relationship between disgust sensitivity and the intensity of infectious diseases in the environment is limited. We tested whether disgust and contamination sensitivity changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disgust was assessed in 984 women in 2017 (before pandemic) and 633 women in 2020 (during pandemic) by a set of photographs depicting sources of infection and Pathogen and Moral of Three-Domain Disgust Scale. Further, contamination sensitivity among participants in two waves was measured by Contamination Obsessions and Washing Compulsions Subscale of Padua Inventory. State anxiety was measured with the Polish adaptation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) only during the second wave of data collection. Women from the COVID-19 pandemic group assessed the photographs depicting sources of infection as more disgusting, scoring higher on Padua Inventory, but lower on Moral Disgust Domain as compared to women from before the pandemic. In addition, anxiety levels during pandemic positively correlated with scores from Pathogen Disgust Domain, Padua Inventory, and the ratings of the photographs. The participants of the study scored higher in state anxiety than the norms determined for the Polish population. Summarizing, we present evidence for differences in individual levels of disgust sensitivity in relation to pathogen stress, supporting the idea that disgust evolved to serve as protection from pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Miłkowska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Science, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Andrzej Galbarczyk
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Science, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Magdalena Mijas
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Science, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Science, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
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15
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Cepon-Robins TJ, Blackwell AD, Gildner TE, Liebert MA, Urlacher SS, Madimenos FC, Eick GN, Snodgrass JJ, Sugiyama LS. Pathogen disgust sensitivity protects against infection in a high pathogen environment. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2018552118. [PMID: 33597300 PMCID: PMC7923589 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2018552118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Disgust is hypothesized to be an evolved emotion that functions to regulate the avoidance of pathogen-related stimuli and behaviors. Individuals with higher pathogen disgust sensitivity (PDS) are predicted to be exposed to and thus infected by fewer pathogens, though no studies have tested this directly. Furthermore, PDS is hypothesized to be locally calibrated to the types of pathogens normally encountered and the fitness-related costs and benefits of infection and avoidance. Market integration (the degree of production for and consumption from market-based economies) influences the relative costs/benefits of pathogen exposure and avoidance through sanitation, hygiene, and lifestyle changes, and is thus predicted to affect PDS. Here, we examine the function of PDS in disease avoidance, its environmental calibration, and its socioecological variation by examining associations among PDS, market-related lifestyle factors, and measures of bacterial, viral, and macroparasitic infection at the individual, household, and community levels. Data were collected among 75 participants (ages 5 to 59 y) from 28 households in three Ecuadorian Shuar communities characterized by subsistence-based lifestyles and high pathogen burden, but experiencing rapid market integration. As predicted, we found strong negative associations between PDS and biomarkers of immune response to viral/bacterial infection, and weaker associations between PDS and measures of macroparasite infection, apparently mediated by market integration-related differences. We provide support for the previously untested hypothesis that PDS is negatively associated with infection, and document variation in PDS indicative of calibration to local socioeconomic conditions. More broadly, findings highlight the importance of evolved psychological mechanisms in human health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara J Cepon-Robins
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO 80918;
| | - Aaron D Blackwell
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164
| | - Theresa E Gildner
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
| | - Melissa A Liebert
- Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011
| | - Samuel S Urlacher
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76706
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - Felicia C Madimenos
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York, Queens, NY 11367
| | - Geeta N Eick
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403
| | - J Josh Snodgrass
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403
- Center for Global Health, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403
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Infection threat shapes our social instincts. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021; 75:47. [PMID: 33583997 PMCID: PMC7873116 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-02975-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
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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17
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Stevenson RJ, Saluja S, Case TI. The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Disgust Sensitivity. Front Psychol 2021; 11:600761. [PMID: 33551913 PMCID: PMC7854913 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.600761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There have been few tests of whether exposure to naturalistic or experimental disease-threat inductions alter disgust sensitivity, although it has been hypothesized that this should occur as part of disgust's disease avoidance function. In the current study, we asked Macquarie university students to complete measures of disgust sensitivity, perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD), hand hygiene behavior and impulsivity, during Australia's Covid-19 pandemic self-quarantine (lockdown) period, in March/April 2020. These data were then compared to earlier Macquarie university, and other local, and overseas student cohorts, to determine if disgust sensitivity and the other measures, were different in the lockdown sample. The most consistent finding in the lockdown sample was of higher core disgust sensitivity (Cohen's d = 0.4), with some evidence of greater germ aversion on the PVD, and an increase in hand and food-related hygiene, but with little change in impulsivity. The consistency with which greater core disgust sensitivity was observed, suggests exposure to a highly naturalistic disease threat is a plausible cause. Greater disgust sensitivity may have several functional benefits (e.g., hand and food-related hygiene) and may arise implicitly from the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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18
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Knowles KA, Olatunji BO. Anxiety and safety behavior usage during the COVID-19 pandemic: The prospective role of contamination fear. J Anxiety Disord 2021; 77:102323. [PMID: 33137593 PMCID: PMC7572316 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has broadly increased anxiety and changed individual behavior. However, there is limited research examining predictors of pandemic-related changes, and the majority of existing research is cross-sectional in nature, which limits causal inference. Given functional links with disease avoidance processes, individual differences in contamination fear may be especially relevant in predicting responses to COVID-19. Accordingly, the present study prospectively examines contamination fear and obsessive-compulsive washing symptoms as predictors of anxiety and safety behaviors in response to COVID-19 in a student sample (N = 108). To examine specificity, anxiety and safety behaviors in response to seasonal influenza are also examined. In the early stages of the pandemic (March 2020), coronavirus-related anxiety was higher than flu-related anxiety (d = 1.38). Obsessive-compulsive washing symptoms also increased from before the pandemic (d = 0.4). Although baseline contamination fear and obsessive-compulsive washing symptoms did not significantly predict coronavirus-related anxiety, contamination fear did significantly predict safety behavior usage in response to both COVID-19 and influenza. The specificity of the prospective association between contamination fear and the use of safety behaviors are discussed in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the broader literature on the role of safety behaviors in anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly A. Knowles
- Corresponding author at: Wilson Hall 312, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7817, USA
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19
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Żelaźniewicz A, Nowak-Kornicka J, Figura R, Groyecka-Bernard A, Sorokowski P, Pawłowski B. Pharyngeal Detection of Staphylococcus aureus as a Possible Factor Related to Disgust Sensitivity in Humans. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17218286. [PMID: 33182475 PMCID: PMC7665136 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17218286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Disgust triggers behavioral avoidance of pathogen-carrying and fitness-reducing agents. However, because of the cost involved, disgust sensitivity should be flexible, varying as a function of an individual’s immunity. Asymptomatic colonization with Staphylococcus aureus often results from weakened immunity and is a potential source of subsequent infections. In this study, we tested if pharyngeal colonization with S. aureus, evaluated based on a single swab collection, is related to an individual’s disgust sensitivity, measured with the Three Domain Disgust Scale. Levels of immunomodulating hormones (cortisol and testosterone), general health, and body adiposity were controlled. Women (N = 95), compared to men (N = 137), displayed higher sexual disgust sensitivity, but the difference between individuals with S. aureus and without S. aureus was significant only in men, providing support for prophylactic hypothesis, explaining inter-individual differences in disgust sensitivity. Men (but not women) burdened with asymptomatic S. aureus presence in pharynx exhibit higher pathogen disgust (p = 0.04) compared to individuals in which S. aureus was not detected. The positive relationship between the presence of the pathogen and sexual disgust was close to the statistical significance level (p = 0.06), and S. aureus colonization was not related with moral disgust domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Żelaźniewicz
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland; (J.N.-K.); (R.F.); (B.P.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Judyta Nowak-Kornicka
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland; (J.N.-K.); (R.F.); (B.P.)
| | - Renata Figura
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland; (J.N.-K.); (R.F.); (B.P.)
| | - Agata Groyecka-Bernard
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, 50-529 Wroclaw, Poland; (A.G.-B.); (P.S.)
| | - Piotr Sorokowski
- Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, 50-529 Wroclaw, Poland; (A.G.-B.); (P.S.)
| | - Bogusław Pawłowski
- Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, 50-138 Wroclaw, Poland; (J.N.-K.); (R.F.); (B.P.)
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20
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It's not you, it's me - disgust sensitivity towards body odor in deaf and blind individuals. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 82:3728-3736. [PMID: 32529574 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02075-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Disgust might be elicited by various sensory channels, including the sense of smell. It has been previously demonstrated that unpleasant odors emitted by an external source are more disgusting than those emitted by oneself (the source effect). As disgust's main purpose is to help organisms avoid potentially dangerous, contaminating objects, individuals with visual or hearing sensory impairment (thus, with an impeded ability to detect cues indicating pathogen threat) might have developed an increased levels of olfactory disgust sensitivity (modality compensation in disgust sensitivity). We set out to investigate disgust sensitivity in olfaction using the Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS) on a large sample of 74 deaf and 98 blind participants, with comparison to control groups without sensory impairment (N = 199 in total). The results did not support the hypothesis of modality compensation in disgust sensitivity. Contrary to previous research, neither sex nor age influenced the outcomes. Evidence for the source effect was found. Acquired data are interpreted in the light of social desirability. The emphasis put on the olfaction by blind and deaf individuals is discussed.
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21
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Sarolidou G, Axelsson J, Kimball BA, Sundelin T, Regenbogen C, Lundström JN, Lekander M, Olsson MJ. People expressing olfactory and visual cues of disease are less liked. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190272. [PMID: 32306878 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
For humans, like other social animals, behaviour acts as a first line of defence against pathogens. A key component is the ability to detect subtle perceptual cues of sick conspecifics. The present study assessed the effects of endotoxin-induced olfactory and visual sickness cues on liking, as well as potential involved mechanisms. Seventy-seven participants were exposed to sick and healthy facial pictures and body odours from the same individual in a 2 × 2 factorial design while disgust-related facial electromyography (EMG) was recorded. Following exposure, participants rated their liking of the person presented. In another session, participants also answered questionnaires on perceived vulnerability to disease, disgust sensitivity and health anxiety. Lower ratings of liking were linked to both facial and body odour disease cues as main effects. Disgust, as measured by EMG, did not seem to be the mediating mechanism, but participants who perceived themselves as more prone to disgust, and as more vulnerable to disease, liked presented persons less irrespectively of their health status. Concluding, olfactory and visual sickness cues that appear already a few hours after the experimental induction of systemic inflammation have implications for human sociality and may as such be a part of a behavioural defence against disease. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Olfactory communication in humans'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Sarolidou
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
| | - John Axelsson
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.,Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Bruce A Kimball
- USDA-APHIS-WS, National Wildlife Research Center, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Tina Sundelin
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.,Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christina Regenbogen
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM-3), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Johan N Lundström
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.,Stockholm University Brain Imaging Centre, Stockholm, Sweden.,Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Mats Lekander
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.,Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.,Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mats J Olsson
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
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22
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Kościński K, Makarewicz R, Bartoszewicz Z. Stereotypical and Actual Associations of Breast Size with Mating-Relevant Traits. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2020; 49:821-836. [PMID: 31562583 PMCID: PMC7058577 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-019-1464-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2016] [Revised: 05/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Breast size varies substantially among women and influences perception of the woman by other people with regard to her attractiveness and other characteristics that are important in social contexts, including mating. The theory of sexual selection predicts that physical criteria of partner selection should be markers of the candidate's desirable properties, mainly biological quality. Few studies, however, have examined whether breast size really signals biological quality or its components and whether observers accurately interpret these signals. Our first study encompassed 163 young women and aimed to establish actual correlates of breast size. The aim of the second study was to determine preferences and stereotypes related to breast size: 252-265 women and men evaluated female digital figures varying in, among other characteristics, breast size. Breast size (breast circumference minus chest circumference) was negatively associated with body asymmetry and positively associated with infections of the respiratory system, but did not correlate with infections of the digestive system, openness to casual sex, and testosterone and estradiol level. Women and men perceived breasts in a similar way to each other: the bigger the breasts the higher the reproductive efficiency, lactational efficiency, sexual desire, and promiscuity attributed to the woman. Nevertheless, large breasts were not regarded more attractive than average ones, though small breasts were the least attractive. In addition, big-breasted women were perceived as less faithful and less intelligent than women with average or small breasts. We discuss our results from the perspectives of evolutionary psychology, perceptual biases, and social stereotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krzysztof Kościński
- Department of Human Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614, Poznan, Poland.
| | - Rafał Makarewicz
- Department of Human Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614, Poznan, Poland
| | - Zbigniew Bartoszewicz
- Department of Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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23
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Disgust propensity has a causal link to the stigmatization of people with cancer. J Behav Med 2019; 43:377-390. [DOI: 10.1007/s10865-019-00130-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/14/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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24
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Żelaźniewicz A, Nowak J, Pawłowski B. Hand-grip strength predicts individuals' sexual and pathogen but not moral disgust sensitivity. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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25
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Curtis V, de Barra M. The structure and function of pathogen disgust. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0208. [PMID: 29866921 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Researchers have long noted that many of the multiple elicitors of disgust have some relation to infectious disease. There is an emerging consensus that disgust evolved in Animalia to direct the behaviours that reduce risk of infection, so-called 'parasite avoidance theory'. If this is correct, then the disgust motive should be structured in a manner that reflects the ways in which infectious disease can be avoided. In this study, we generated a set of items based on the epidemiology of disease transmission. These were then rated for their capacity to elicit disgust by a large, predominantly North American/UK sample and subjected to factor analysis to identify latent variables. While a number of plausible factor solutions emerged, Velicer's MAP (minimum average partial) test suggested six domains: atypical appearance, lesions, sex, hygiene, food and animals. This structure did not exactly mirror the transmission routes of infections, as we initially predicted, but it may rather reflect distinct kinds of behavioural tasks involved in avoiding disease. This finding makes sense from the perspective of a cognitive system that evolved under selection for a behavioural response to threats from the social and biological environment. We suggest that regularly occurring types of infectious disease problems have produced regularities in the domain structure of pathogen disgust and discuss the implications of these results for understanding the structure, function and measurement of motives such as disgust in humans and other animals.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Val Curtis
- Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
| | - Mícheál de Barra
- Center for Culture and Evolution, Depatment of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, Middelsex UB8 3PH, UK
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26
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Tybur JM, Çınar Ç, Karinen AK, Perone P. Why do people vary in disgust? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0204. [PMID: 29866917 PMCID: PMC6000141 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
People vary in the degree to which they experience disgust toward—and, consequently, avoid—cues to pathogens. Prodigious work has measured this variation and observed that it relates to, among other things, personality, psychopathological tendencies, and moral and political sentiments. Less work has sought to generate hypotheses aimed at explaining why this variation exists in the first place, and even less work has evaluated how well data support these hypotheses. In this paper, we present and review the evidence supporting three such proposals. First, researchers have suggested that variability reflects a general tendency to experience anxiety or emotional distress. Second, researchers have suggested that variability arises from parental modelling, with offspring calibrating their pathogen avoidance based on their parents' reactions to pathogen cues. Third, researchers have suggested that individuals calibrate their disgust sensitivity to the parasite stress of the ecology in which they develop. We conclude that none of these hypotheses is supported by existing data, and we propose directions for future research aimed at better understanding this variation. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M Tybur
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands .,Institute of Brain and Behaviour, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Çağla Çınar
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Annika K Karinen
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Paola Perone
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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27
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Milkowska K, Galbarczyk A, Jasienska G. Disgust sensitivity in relation to menstrual cycle phase in women with and without an infection. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23233. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Milkowska
- Department of Environmental Health Faculty of Health Science, Jagiellonian University Medical College Krakow Poland
| | - Andrzej Galbarczyk
- Department of Environmental Health Faculty of Health Science, Jagiellonian University Medical College Krakow Poland
| | - Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health Faculty of Health Science, Jagiellonian University Medical College Krakow Poland
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28
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Lenk M, Ritschel G, Abele M, Roever P, Schellong J, Joraschky P, Weidner K, Croy I. The source effect as a natural function of disgust in interpersonal context and its impairment in mental disorders. Sci Rep 2019; 9:4239. [PMID: 30862932 PMCID: PMC6414517 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-40802-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Disgust affects interpersonal relationships and regulates hygienic, sexual and distance behaviour. Its intensity in the interpersonal context depends on the character of the relationship. Strangers normally evoke more disgust than intimates (known as the source effect). General disgust sensitivity is increased in various mental diseases. It is unclear how disgust in the interpersonal context is affected and whether the source effect is preserved. 460 inpatients with mental disorders and 463 healthy subjects answered a newly developed Questionnaire (DIRQ) that covers disgust in the interpersonal context on content categories (hygiene, physical proximity, sexuality) and on source categories (self, partner, parent, stranger). Mental disorders were diagnosed with structured interviews. Healthy controls exhibited a pronounced source effect, with strangers evoking more disgust than intimates. In patients, this source effect was reduced (Cohen's d = 0.3), especially for sexual disgust, while general disgust sensitivity was increased (d = 0.5). High disgust in patients was best predicted by a history of sexual abuse and by the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder. In conclusion, mentally impaired patients show increased and trauma-associated disgust sensitivity. Their downregulation of sexual disgust in intimate relationships is hindered, which may have a boundary protective function but might also fuel difficulties engaging in relationships or intimacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Lenk
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Gerhard Ritschel
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marion Abele
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Peggy Roever
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Julia Schellong
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Peter Joraschky
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Kerstin Weidner
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ilona Croy
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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29
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Cai Z, Hahn AC, Zhang W, Holzleitner IJ, Lee AJ, DeBruine LM, Jones BC. No evidence that facial attractiveness, femininity, averageness, or coloration are cues to susceptibility to infectious illnesses in a university sample of young adult women. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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30
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Murray DR, Prokosch ML, Airington Z. PsychoBehavioroimmunology: Connecting the Behavioral Immune System to Its Physiological Foundations. Front Psychol 2019; 10:200. [PMID: 30804853 PMCID: PMC6378957 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Although infectious disease has posed a significant and persistent threat to human survival and welfare throughout history, only recently have the psychological and behavioral implications of disease threat become a topic of research within the behavioral sciences. This growing body of work has revealed a suite of affective and cognitive processes that motivate the avoidance of disease-causing objects and situations—a cascade of processes loosely conceptualized as a “behavioral immune system (BIS).” Recent BIS research has linked disease threat to a surprisingly broad set of psychological and behavioral phenomena. However, research examining how the BIS is nested within our broader physiology is only beginning to emerge. Here, we review research that has begun to elucidate the physiological foundations of the BIS—at the levels of sensory modalities, cells, and genes. We also discuss the future of this work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damian R Murray
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | | | - Zachary Airington
- Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
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31
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32
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Konrad M, Pull CD, Metzler S, Seif K, Naderlinger E, Grasse AV, Cremer S. Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:2782-2787. [PMID: 29463746 PMCID: PMC5856517 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1713501115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Being cared for when sick is a benefit of sociality that can reduce disease and improve survival of group members. However, individuals providing care risk contracting infectious diseases themselves. If they contract a low pathogen dose, they may develop low-level infections that do not cause disease but still affect host immunity by either decreasing or increasing the host's vulnerability to subsequent infections. Caring for contagious individuals can thus significantly alter the future disease susceptibility of caregivers. Using ants and their fungal pathogens as a model system, we tested if the altered disease susceptibility of experienced caregivers, in turn, affects their expression of sanitary care behavior. We found that low-level infections contracted during sanitary care had protective or neutral effects on secondary exposure to the same (homologous) pathogen but consistently caused high mortality on superinfection with a different (heterologous) pathogen. In response to this risk, the ants selectively adjusted the expression of their sanitary care. Specifically, the ants performed less grooming and more antimicrobial disinfection when caring for nestmates contaminated with heterologous pathogens compared with homologous ones. By modulating the components of sanitary care in this way the ants acquired less infectious particles of the heterologous pathogens, resulting in reduced superinfection. The performance of risk-adjusted sanitary care reveals the remarkable capacity of ants to react to changes in their disease susceptibility, according to their own infection history and to flexibly adjust collective care to individual risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Konrad
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Christopher D Pull
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Sina Metzler
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Katharina Seif
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Elisabeth Naderlinger
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Anna V Grasse
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
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33
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Al-Shawaf L, Lewis DM, Buss DM. Sex Differences in Disgust: Why Are Women More Easily Disgusted Than Men? EMOTION REVIEW 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/1754073917709940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Women have consistently higher levels of disgust than men. This sex difference is substantial in magnitude, highly replicable, emerges with diverse assessment methods, and affects a wide array of outcomes—including job selection, mate choice, food aversions, and psychological disorders. Despite the importance of this far-reaching sex difference, sound theoretical explanations have lagged behind the empirical discoveries. In this article, we focus on the evolutionary-functional level of analysis, outlining hypotheses capable of explaining why women have higher levels of disgust than men. We present four hypotheses for sexual disgust and six for pathogen disgust, along with testable predictions. Discussion focuses on additional new hypotheses and on future research capable of adjudicating among these competing, but not mutually exclusive, hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laith Al-Shawaf
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, USA
- College of Life Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Germany
| | - David M.G. Lewis
- School of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University, Australia
| | - David M. Buss
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
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34
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Liuzza MT, Lindholm T, Hawley C, Sendén MG, Ekström I, Olsson MJ, Larsson M, Olofsson JK. The Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS): Development and Validation of a Novel Olfactory Disgust Assessment. Chem Senses 2017. [PMID: 28633463 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjw107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Disgust plays a crucial role in the avoidance of pathogen threats. In many species, body odors provide important information related to health and disease, and body odors are potent elicitors of disgust in humans. With this background, valid assessments of body odor disgust sensitivity are warranted. In the present article, we report the development and psychometric validation of the Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS), a measure suited to assess individual differences in disgust reaction to a variety of body odors. Collected data from 3 studies (total n = 528) show that the scale can be used either as a unidimensional scale or as a scale that reflects two hypothesized factors: sensitivity to one's own body odors versus those of others. Guided by our results, we reduced the scale to 12 items that capture the essence of these 2 factors. The final version of the BODS shows an excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's αs > 0.9). The BODS subscales show convergent validity with other general disgust scales, as well as with other olfactory functions measures and with aspects of personality that are related to pathogen avoidance. A fourth study confirmed the construct validity of the BODS and its measurement invariance to gender. Moreover, we found that, compared with other general disgust scales, the BODS is more strongly related to perceived vulnerability to disease. The BODS is a brief and valid assessment of trait body odor disgust sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Tullio Liuzza
- Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 9A, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Torun Lindholm
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Caitlin Hawley
- Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 9A, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Ingrid Ekström
- Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 9A, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mats J Olsson
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Fogdevreten 2a, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden and
| | - Maria Larsson
- Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 9A, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jonas K Olofsson
- Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Frescati Hagväg 9A, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.,Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study, Thunbergsvägen 2, 752 38 Uppsala, Sweden
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Liuzza MT, Olofsson JK, Sabiniewicz A, Sorokowska A. Body Odor Trait Disgust Sensitivity Predicts Perception of Sweat Biosamples. Chem Senses 2017; 42:479-485. [DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjx026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
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Compensatory up-regulation of behavioral disease avoidance in immuno-compromised people with rheumatoid arthritis. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Croy I, Bendas J, Wittrodt N, Lenk M, Joraschky P, Weidner K. Gender-Specific Relation Between Olfactory Sensitivity and Disgust Perception. Chem Senses 2017; 42:487-492. [DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjw163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Kandrik M, Hahn AC, Fisher CI, Wincenciak J, DeBruine LM, Jones BC. Are physiological and behavioral immune responses negatively correlated? Evidence from hormone-linked differences in men's face preferences. Horm Behav 2017; 87:57-61. [PMID: 27810343 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Revised: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Behaviors that minimize exposure to sources of pathogens can carry opportunity costs. Consequently, how individuals resolve the tradeoff between the benefits and costs of behavioral immune responses should be sensitive to the extent to which they are vulnerable to infectious diseases. However, although it is a strong prediction of this functional flexibility principle, there is little compelling evidence that individuals with stronger physiological immune responses show weaker behavioral immune responses. Here we show that men with the combination of high testosterone and low cortisol levels, a hormonal profile recently found to be associated with particularly strong physiological immune responses, show weaker preferences for color cues associated with carotenoid pigmentation. Since carotenoid cues are thought to index vulnerability to infectious illnesses, our results are consistent with the functional flexibility principle's prediction that individuals with stronger physiological immune responses show weaker behavioral immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Kandrik
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK.
| | - Amanda C Hahn
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
| | - Claire I Fisher
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
| | - Joanna Wincenciak
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
| | - Lisa M DeBruine
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
| | - Benedict C Jones
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QB, UK
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Steinkopf L. Disgust, Empathy, and Care of the Sick: an Evolutionary Perspective. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-016-0078-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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41
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Żelaźniewicz A, Borkowska B, Nowak J, Pawłowski B. The progesterone level, leukocyte count and disgust sensitivity across the menstrual cycle. Physiol Behav 2016; 161:60-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Revised: 03/25/2016] [Accepted: 04/02/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Felisberti F, Terry P. The effects of alcohol on the recognition of facial expressions and microexpressions of emotion: enhanced recognition of disgust and contempt. Hum Psychopharmacol 2015; 30:384-92. [PMID: 26073552 DOI: 10.1002/hup.2488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2014] [Revised: 02/24/2015] [Accepted: 04/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The study compared alcohol's effects on the recognition of briefly displayed facial expressions of emotion (so-called microexpressions) with expressions presented for a longer period. METHOD Using a repeated-measures design, we tested 18 participants three times (counterbalanced), after (i) a placebo drink, (ii) a low-to-moderate dose of alcohol (0.17 g/kg women; 0.20 g/kg men) and (iii) a moderate-to-high dose of alcohol (0.52 g/kg women; 0.60 g/kg men). On each session, participants were presented with stimuli representing six emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust and contempt) overlaid on a generic avatar in a six-alternative forced-choice paradigm. A neutral expression (1 s) preceded and followed a target expression presented for 200 ms (microexpressions) or 400 ms. Participants mouse clicked the correct answer. RESULTS The recognition of disgust was significantly better after the high dose of alcohol than after the low dose or placebo drinks at both durations of stimulus presentation. A similar profile of effects was found for the recognition of contempt. There were no effects on response latencies. CONCLUSION Alcohol can increase sensitivity to expressions of disgust and contempt. Such effects are not dependent on stimulus duration up to 400 ms and may reflect contextual modulation of alcohol's effects on emotion recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatima Felisberti
- Department of Psychology, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, UK
| | - Philip Terry
- Department of Psychology, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, UK
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Stevenson RJ, Hodgson D, Oaten MJ, Sominsky L, Mahmut M, Case TI. Oral Immune Activation by Disgust and Disease-Related Pictures. J PSYCHOPHYSIOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. Both disgust and disease-related images appear able to induce an innate immune response but it is unclear whether these effects are independent or rely upon a common shared factor (e.g., disgust or disease-related cognitions). In this study we directly compared these two inductions using specifically generated sets of images. One set was disease-related but evoked little disgust, while the other set was disgust evoking but with less disease-relatedness. These two image sets were then compared to a third set, a negative control condition. Using a wholly within-subject design, participants viewed one image set per week, and provided saliva samples, before and after each viewing occasion, which were later analyzed for innate immune markers. We found that both the disease related and disgust images, relative to the negative control images, were not able to generate an innate immune response. However, secondary analyses revealed innate immune responses in participants with greater propensity to feel disgust following exposure to disease-related and disgusting images. These findings suggest that disgust images relatively free of disease-related themes, and disease-related images relatively free of disgust may be suboptimal cues for generating an innate immune response. Not only may this explain why disgust propensity mediates these effects, it may also imply a common pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Deborah Hodgson
- Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Megan J. Oaten
- Department of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, Australia
| | - Luba Sominsky
- Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Mehmet Mahmut
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Trevor I. Case
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Disgust in pregnancy and fetus sex—Longitudinal study. Physiol Behav 2015; 139:177-81. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.11.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2014] [Revised: 11/08/2014] [Accepted: 11/10/2014] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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Olatunji BO. Selective effects of excessive engagement in health-related behaviours on disgust propensity. Cogn Emot 2014; 29:882-99. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2014.951314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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de Barra M, Islam MS, Curtis V. Disgust sensitivity is not associated with health in a rural Bangladeshi sample. PLoS One 2014; 9:e100444. [PMID: 24977418 PMCID: PMC4076222 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Accepted: 05/28/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Disgust can be considered a psychological arm of the immune system that acts to prevent exposure to infectious agents. High disgust sensitivity is associated with greater behavioral avoidance of disease vectors and thus may reduce infection risk. A cross-sectional survey in rural Bangladesh provided no strong support for this hypothesis. In many species, the expression of pathogen- and predator-avoidance mechanisms is contingent on early life exposure to predators and pathogens. Using childhood health data collected in the 1990s, we examined if adults with more infectious diseases in childhood showed greater adult disgust sensitivity: no support for this association was found. Explanations for these null finding and possible directions for future research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mícheál de Barra
- Environmental Health Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Val Curtis
- Environmental Health Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Evolutionary developmental psychology typically utilizes an evolutionary lens to explain various phenomena that occur throughout development. In this paper, I argue that the converse is also important: Developmental evidence can inform evolutionary theory. In particular, knowledge about the developmental origins of a psychological trait can be used to evaluate theoretical claims about its evolved function. I use the emotion of disgust as a case study to illustrate this approach. Disgust is commonly thought to be a behavioral adaptation for avoiding the ingestion of pathogens. Given this claim, disgust should be expected to develop at a time when humans are especially vulnerable to the dangers of ingesting pathogens, during the immediate post-weaning period from about 3 to 5 years of age. Despite a strong selective pressure at this point in development, research has suggested that the emotion of disgust and the recognition of the "disgust face" do not reliably emerge until later in ontogeny, at 5 years of age or after. Given the late developmental appearance of disgust, I re-evaluate claims about its adaptive role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Rottman
- Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
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48
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Disgust elevates core body temperature and up-regulates certain oral immune markers. Brain Behav Immun 2012; 26:1160-8. [PMID: 22841694 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2012] [Revised: 07/17/2012] [Accepted: 07/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent findings suggest that disgust can activate particular aspects of the immune system. In this study we examine whether disgust can also elevate core body temperature (BT), a further feature of an immune response to disease. In addition, we also examined whether food based disgust--a core eliciting stimulus--may be a more potent immune stimulus than non-food based disgust. Healthy males were randomly assigned to view one of four sets of images--food disgust, non-food disgust, food control and negative emotion control. Measures of BT, salivary immune and related markers, and self-report data, were collected before, and at two time points after image viewing. Disgust elevated BT relative to the negative emotion control condition, as did food images. Different mechanisms appeared to account for these effects on BT, with higher initial levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-a) and disgust, predictive of BT increases in the disgust conditions. Disgust also increased TNF-a, and albumin levels, relative to the control conditions. Type of disgust exerted little effect. These findings further support the idea that disgust impacts upon immune function, and that disgust serves primarily a disease avoidance function.
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Thornhill R, Fincher CL. Parasite stress promotes homicide and child maltreatment. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2012; 366:3466-77. [PMID: 22042922 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Researchers using the parasite-stress theory of human values have discovered many cross-cultural behavioural patterns that inform a range of scholarly disciplines. Here, we apply the theory to major categories of interpersonal violence, and the empirical findings are supportive. We hypothesize that the collectivism evoked by high parasite stress is a cause of adult-on-adult interpersonal violence. Across the US states, parasite stress and collectivism each positively predicts rates of men's and women's slaying of a romantic partner, as well as the rate of male-honour homicide and of the motivationally similar felony-related homicide. Of these four types of homicide, wealth inequality has an independent effect only on rates of male-honour and felony-related homicide. Parasite stress and collectivism also positively predict cross-national homicide rates. Child maltreatment by caretakers is caused, in part, by divestment in offspring of low phenotypic quality, and high parasite stress produces more such offspring than low parasite stress. Rates of each of two categories of the child maltreatment--lethal and non-lethal--across the US states are predicted positively by parasite stress, with wealth inequality and collectivism having limited effects. Parasite stress may be the strongest predictor of interpersonal violence to date.
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Affiliation(s)
- Randy Thornhill
- Department of Biology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
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Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: the cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity. Behav Brain Sci 2012; 35:61-79. [PMID: 22289223 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x11000021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 227] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Throughout the world people differ in the magnitude with which they value strong family ties or heightened religiosity. We propose that this cross-cultural variation is a result of a contingent psychological adaptation that facilitates in-group assortative sociality in the face of high levels of parasite-stress while devaluing in-group assortative sociality in areas with low levels of parasite-stress. This is because in-group assortative sociality is more important for the avoidance of infection from novel parasites and for the management of infection in regions with high levels of parasite-stress compared with regions of low infectious disease stress. We examined this hypothesis by testing the predictions that there would be a positive association between parasite-stress and strength of family ties or religiosity. We conducted this study by comparing among nations and among states in the United States of America. We found for both the international and the interstate analyses that in-group assortative sociality was positively associated with parasite-stress. This was true when controlling for potentially confounding factors such as human freedom and economic development. The findings support the parasite-stress theory of sociality, that is, the proposal that parasite-stress is central to the evolution of social life in humans and other animals.
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