Signaling sickness: the role of recalled sickness behavior and psychosocial factors in shaping communication style.

Eric C ShattuckJessica K PerrotteColton L DanielsXiaohe XuThankam S Sunil

Published in: Evolution, medicine, and public health (2021)

Evolutionary medicine hypothesizes that signs and symptoms of infectious disease-including sickness behavior-have adaptive functions, one of which might be to reliably signal one's health status to others. Our results suggest that evolved signals like these are likely shaped by cultural factors.

Keyphrases

infectious diseases
mental health
gene expression
sleep quality