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Makhanova A, Tolliver MDM, Buckner Z, Shields GS, Hunter CL, Mengelkoch S, Houpt JW, Belote AE, Hoose DV, Schulz TK. Immune response and intergroup bias: Vaccine-induced increases in cytokine activity are associated with worse evaluations of resume for Latina job applicant. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 122:555-564. [PMID: 39168271 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.08.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 07/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Situational factors can increase people's vulnerability to intergroup bias, including prejudicial attitudes, negative stereotyping, and discrimination. We proposed that increases in inflammatory activity that coincide with acute illness may represent a hitherto unstudied situational factor that increases intergroup bias. The current study experimentally manipulated increases in inflammatory activity by administering the seasonal influenza vaccine or a saline placebo. We quantified inflammatory activity by assessing change in salivary pro-inflammatory cytokines and assessed intergroup bias using a resume evaluation task and self-reported ethnocentrism. Primary analyses focused on a subsample of 117 participants who provided high quality data; robustness analyses included various permutations of lower quality participants. Findings revealed that changes in the cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in response to the vaccine were associated with greater intergroup bias. Among participants who received the vaccine, IL-1β change was negatively associated with evaluation of a Latina (but not a White woman) applicant's competency and recommended starting salary. Moreover, IL-1β change was positively associated with ethnocentrism. Overall, results provide support for the hypothesis that acute illness, via the mechanistic role of inflammatory cytokines, affects social cognition in ways that can increase intergroup bias.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Alex E Belote
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Northwest, United States
| | - Dalton V Hoose
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Northwest, United States
| | - Thomas K Schulz
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Northwest, United States; Loma Linda University, United States
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2
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Faig KE, Necka EA, Smith KE, Dimitroff SJ, Norman GJ. Resting parasympathetic activity is associated with malodor-induced change in perceived foreignness of speakers. Brain Behav 2023; 13:e3249. [PMID: 37735857 PMCID: PMC10636398 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION To protect against infection, individuals have evolved context-dependent pathogen-avoidant strategies, including selective social behaviors aimed at avoiding foreign individuals who may possess greater risk of infection. Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity is associated with social engagement and regulation of the classical immune system but has not been widely investigated in relation to changes in intergroup perception and the behavioral immune system. METHOD The current research investigated the relationship between parasympathetic activity and perceived foreignness of in and outgroup speakers during exposure to a pathogen-relevant odor (butyric acid). High-frequency heart rate variability was measured at rest and while participants rated foreignness of speakers with and without the odor present. RESULTS Findings show that exposure to the odor was associated with higher foreignness perceptions of outgroup speakers and lower foreignness perceptions of ingroup speakers. This effect was especially evident among individuals with higher resting parasympathetic activity. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the PNS may play a role in changes in social perceptions during a behavioral immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly E. Faig
- Department of PsychologyHamilton CollegeClintonNew YorkUSA
| | | | - Karen E. Smith
- Department of PsychologyRutgers University‐NewarkNewarkNew JerseyUSA
| | | | - Greg J. Norman
- Department of PsychologyThe University of ChicagoChicagoIllinoisUSA
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3
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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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4
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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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5
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Chiesi F, Marunic G, Tagliaferro C, Lau C. The psychometric properties and gender invariance of the Italian version of the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire (I-PVDQ) during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Psychol 2022; 10:321. [PMID: 36581890 PMCID: PMC9797899 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-022-01023-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire (PVDQ) measures beliefs associated with personal susceptibility to infectious diseases and behaviors or perceptions in the presence of potential risk of pathogen transmission. Given the onset of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 global pandemic, otherwise known as the COVID-19 pandemic, the construct being measured may function differently based on affective, behavioral, and cognitive changes along with the need to change norms and lifestyles in a global context. The present study aims to test the psychometric properties and the gender invariance of the Italian adaptation of the PVDQ to confirm that the scale can be used with Italian-speaking people, and that it functions effectively during a pandemic. METHODS A total of 509 participants filled out an online questionnaire including the Italian version of the I-PVDQ (I-PVDQ) and several measures of psychological constructs. Reliability and factor analyses (single and multigroup) were conducted. Bayesian correlation tests and Bayesian independent sample t-tests were used to assess the validity of I-PVDQ. RESULTS Exploratory factor analysis supported the two-factor structure of the I-PVDQ, and factor loadings loaded appropriately onto perceived infectability (PI) and germ aversion (GA). In terms of invariance, the scale showed configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across genders. Decisive evidence in favor of correlation with the measure of COVID-19 related fears for both PI and GA was found. There was strong evidence for observed correlations with COVID-19 related constructs such as intolerance to uncertainty, psychological inflexibility, resilience, stress, and anxiety. Women showed higher GA than men, while there were no gender differences in PI. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these results suggest that the I-PVDQ confirms the psychometric properties of the original version and that can be used to detect PVD when it is affected by environmental circumstances since its functioning is preserved during a pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Chiesi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug, and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Via San Salvi 12-Padiglione 26, 50135, Florence, Italy.
| | - Georgia Marunic
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug, and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), Section of Psychology, University of Florence, Via San Salvi 12-Padiglione 26, 50135, Florence, Italy
| | | | - Chloe Lau
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Makhanova A, Plant EA, Ketterman AB, Maner JK. Pathogen threat and intergroup prejudice using the minimal group paradigm: Evidence from a registered report. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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7
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Shimizu Y, Hashimoto T, Karasawa K. Ageist Attitudes: Youth Identity, Subjective Time to Become Older, and Impressions of the General Older Population’s Physical and Mental Health. ADVANCES IN GERONTOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s2079057022020163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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8
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The Behavioral Immune System and Intergroup Bias: Evidence for Asian-Specific Bias at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2022; 8:333-342. [PMID: 35462877 PMCID: PMC9013740 DOI: 10.1007/s40806-022-00321-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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9
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Zheng L, Zheng X, Ruan C, Elhai JD. To distance or to help: People's ambivalent attitude towards residents from the COVID-19 epicenter. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022:1-10. [PMID: 35250240 PMCID: PMC8882462 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-02832-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to drastic changes in the world. One prominent aspect has been the transformation in interpersonal relations, especially people's attitude towards residents from COVID epicenters. Using a 2-wave national study in mainland China during the pandemic outbreak, this study examined Chinese people's distancing and helping intentions towards residents from Hubei Province, the epicenter of China at that time. Results suggested that individuals had an ambivalent attitude towards denizens from the epicenter. Specifically, people felt greater risk when they perceived a higher severity of the pandemic and so were more likely to distance from epicenter residents. However, individuals showed greater empathy towards epicenter residents when they felt a higher severity of the pandemic and, therefore, were more likely to help them. Group identity moderated these effects: those with a higher identification as Chinese were more inclined to help Hubei residents, but those with a lower identification as Chinese were more prone to distance from them. The findings provide important implications in understanding interpersonal relationships during the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zheng
- School of Economics and Management, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China
- Center for China Social Trust Research, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China
- Institute of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Xiaoying Zheng
- Business School, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chenhan Ruan
- School of Management, Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jon D. Elhai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH USA
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10
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Bradshaw H, Gassen J, Prokosch M, Boehm G, Hill S. Control over pathogen exposure and basal immunological activity influence disgust and pathogen-avoidance motivation. Cogn Emot 2022; 36:568-580. [PMID: 35138227 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2022.2031905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Disgust is reasoned to operate in conjunction with the immune system to help protect the body from illness. However, less is known about the factors that impact the degree to which individuals invest in pathogen avoidance (disgust) versus pathogen management (prophylactic immunological activity). Here, we examine the role that one's control over pathogen contact plays in resolving such investment trade-offs, predicting that (a) those from low control environments will invest less in pathogen-avoidance strategies and (b) investment in each of these two strategies will occur in a compensatory fashion (i.e. they will be traded off with one other). Across four studies, we found support for these predictions, using a variety of manipulations and measures. By providing novel insights into how one's control over pathogen exposure influences disgust sensitivity and immune system activity, the current research poses an important contribution to the literature on disgust, pathogen avoidance, and the immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Bradshaw
- Department of Psychology, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA, USA
| | - Jeff Gassen
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
| | - Marjorie Prokosch
- Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Gary Boehm
- Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA
| | - Sarah Hill
- Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA
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11
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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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12
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Imada H, Mifune N. Pathogen Threat and In-group Cooperation. Front Psychol 2021; 12:678188. [PMID: 34267707 PMCID: PMC8276105 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.678188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Disease-causing parasites and pathogens play a pivotal role in intergroup behavior. Previous studies have suggested that the selection pressure posed by pathogen threat has resulted in in-group assortative sociality, including xenophobia and in-group favoritism. While the current literature has collated numerous studies on the former, strikingly, there has not been much research on the relationship between pathogen threat and in-group cooperation. Drawing upon prior studies on the function of the behavioral immune system (BIS), we argued that the BIS might facilitate cooperation with in-group members as a reactive behavioral immune response to pathogen threat. More specifically, we held that individuals might utilize cooperative behavior to ensure that they can receive social support when they have contracted an infectious disease. We reviewed existing findings pertaining to the potential role of the BIS in in-group cooperation and discussed directions for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirotaka Imada
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Nobuhiro Mifune
- School of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, Japan
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13
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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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14
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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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15
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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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16
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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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17
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Tybur JM, Jones BC, DeBruine LM, Ackerman JM, Fasolt V. Preregistered Direct Replication of "Sick Body, Vigilant Mind: The Biological Immune System Activates the Behavioral Immune System". Psychol Sci 2020; 31:1461-1469. [PMID: 33079639 PMCID: PMC7675771 DOI: 10.1177/0956797620955209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The tendency to attend to and avoid cues to pathogens varies across individuals and contexts. Researchers have proposed that this variation is partially driven by immunological vulnerability to infection, though support for this hypothesis is equivocal. One key piece of evidence (Miller & Maner, 2011) shows that participants who have recently been ill—and hence may have a reduced ability to combat subsequent infection—allocate more attention to faces with infectious-disease cues than do participants who have not recently been ill. The current article describes a direct replication of this study using a sample of 402 individuals from the University of Michigan, the University of Glasgow, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam—more than 4 times the sample size of the original study. No effect of illness recency on attentional bias for disfigured faces emerged. Though it did not support the original finding, this replication provides suggestions for future research on the psychological underpinnings of pathogen avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M Tybur
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.,Institute of Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Benedict C Jones
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow.,School of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde
| | - Lisa M DeBruine
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow
| | | | - Vanessa Fasolt
- Institute of Neuroscience & Psychology, University of Glasgow
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Capturing Fluctuations in Pathogen Avoidance: the Situational Pathogen Avoidance Scale. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2020; 7:21-38. [PMID: 32837865 PMCID: PMC7424133 DOI: 10.1007/s40806-020-00256-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Pathogen avoidance is an important motive underlying human behavior and is associated with numerous psychological processes—including biases against social groups heuristically associated with illness. Although there are reliable measurement scales to assess chronic dispositional levels of pathogen avoidance, no measurement scale currently exists to directly assess moment-to-moment fluctuations in pathogen avoidance. This paper presents the Situational Pathogen Avoidance (SPA) scale, which assesses situational variability in pathogen avoidance, especially as it pertains to avoidance of social stimuli. Across six studies, we demonstrate the reliability and validity of the SPA scale, show that the scale is influenced by situational activation of pathogen avoidance motives, and demonstrate that it mediates the association between pathogen avoidance motives (both chronic and situational) and social biases against obese and foreign targets. The SPA scale provides a valuable measurement tool for researchers who study pathogen avoidance and to those who study social biases more generally.
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Lorenz TK. Interactions between inflammation and female sexual desire and arousal function. CURRENT SEXUAL HEALTH REPORTS 2019; 11:287-299. [PMID: 33312080 PMCID: PMC7731354 DOI: 10.1007/s11930-019-00218-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW To describe the current state of research on interactions between inflammation and female sexual function. RECENT FINDINGS Inflammation may interfere with female sexual desire and arousal via direct (neural) and indirect (endocrine, vascular, social/behavioral) pathways. There are significant sex differences in the effect of inflammation on sexual function, arising from different evolutionary selection pressures on regulation of reproduction. A variety of inflammation-related conditions are associated with risk of female sexual dysfunction, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and chronic pain. SUMMARY Clinical implications include the need for routine assessment for sexual dysfunction in patients with inflammation-related conditions, the potential for anti-inflammatory diets to improve sexual desire and arousal function, and consideration of chronic inflammation as moderator of sexual effects of hormonal treatments. Although the evidence points to a role for inflammation in the development and maintenance of female sexual dysfunction, the precise nature of these associations remains unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tierney K Lorenz
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
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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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Wu Q, Yang S, Zhou P. Disease Threat and the Functional Flexibility of Ingroup Derogation. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2030. [PMID: 31543857 PMCID: PMC6728892 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
While the findings from previous studies directly relate the ingroup derogation phenomenon to the evolved response of the behavioral immune system, there are three major limitations in the previous studies on the functional flexibility of ingroup derogation. The present study further investigated the functional flexibility of ingroup derogation by conducting three behavioral experiments on Chinese participants. In Experiment 1, we tested whether exposing to situational disease primes leads to an exaggerated ingroup derogation attitude by adopting a more rigorous control. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the source of disease threats to test whether the ingroup derogation mechanism adjusts its response according to the specific perceived vulnerabilities to the disease threats posed by ingroup and outgroup members. In Experiment 3, we tested whether recent illness promotes the expression of ingroup derogation attitudes. Results of the three experiments consistently showed that, the Chinese participants adjusted their ingroup derogation attitudes according to the external environmental disease cues (Experiments 1 and 2) and the internal physiological disease cues (Experiment 3). The results also showed that the ingroup derogation mechanism was sensitive to the specific perceived vulnerabilities to the ingroup disease threat and the outgroup disease threat (Experiment 2). Taken together, these results support the evolutionary hypothesis of ingroup derogation and suggest that the ingroup derogation found in East Asian cultures could be accounted by a functionally flexible disease-avoidance mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ping Zhou
- Cognition and Human Behavior Key Laboratory of Hunan Province, Department of Psychology, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China
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Schaller M. Evolutionary psychology meets socio-ecological psychology: the motivational psychologies of disease-avoidance and parental care. Curr Opin Psychol 2019; 32:6-11. [PMID: 31336251 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Specific features of ancestral ecologies had implications for the evolution of psychological mechanisms that regulate specific aspects of human cognition and behavior within contemporary ecologies. These mechanisms produce predictably different attitudes, judgments and behavioral dispositions under different circumstances. This article summarizes two illustrative programs of research-one that focuses on the evolved psychology of disease-avoidance and its many implications, and the other that focuses on the evolved psychology of parental care-giving and its many implications. These programs of research exemplify the generative utility of evolutionary psychological conceptual methods within the domain of socio-ecological psychology.
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Fleischman DS, Fessler DM. Response to “Hormonal Correlates of Pathogen Disgust: Testing the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis”. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Fay AJ, Bovier ER. Testing a Curvilinear Relationship between Chemosensory Responsivity and Avoidance Motivation. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-018-0088-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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