Signaling sickness: the role of recalled sickness behavior and psychosocial factors in shaping communication style.
Eric C ShattuckJessica K PerrotteColton L DanielsXiaohe XuThankam S SunilPublished 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.