Login / Signup

Functional Heuristics of Disease Transmission from Physical Deformities in Food Preferences.

Mitch BrownSusan M Brown
Published in: Evolutionary psychological science (2023)
Ostensibly serving to restrict contact with disease vectors, humans exhibit aversion toward cues heuristically inferred as pathogenic. This restriction could lead perceivers to downregulate their interest in food consumption, even if such cues may not connote actual disease threats. This proclivity to avoid disease led us to consider how heuristic disease cues inform interest in foods. Participants evaluated a hypothetical food preparer that varied in the presence of heuristic cues to disease transmission (i.e., physical deformities versus healthy control). Individuals with low levels of perceived infectability were more discerning of the social target as a function of disease cues, whereas heightened levels of this trait fostered an overall aversion to targets regardless of health status. Results provide continued evidence for how pathogen avoidance motives compete with other somatic motives.
Keyphrases
  • mental health
  • physical activity
  • healthcare
  • gene expression
  • depressive symptoms
  • social support
  • climate change
  • decision making
  • gene therapy