Authors
Joshua M Tybur, Debra Lieberman, Lei Fan, Tom R Kupfer, Reinout E de Vries
Publication date
2020/10
Journal
Psychological science
Volume
31
Issue
10
Pages
1211-1221
Publisher
Sage Publications
Description
Behavioral-immune-system research has illuminated how people detect and avoid signs of infectious disease. But how do we regulate exposure to pathogens that produce no symptoms in their hosts? This research tested the proposition that estimates of interpersonal value are used for this task. The results of three studies (N = 1,694), each conducted using U.S. samples, are consistent with this proposition: People are less averse to engaging in infection-risky acts not only with friends relative to foes but also with honest and agreeable strangers relative to dishonest and disagreeable ones. Further, a continuous measure of how much a person values a target covaries with comfort with infection-risky acts with that target, even within relationship categories. Findings indicate that social prophylactic motivations arise not only from cues to infectiousness but also from interpersonal value. Consequently, pathogen …
Total citations
2020202120222023202412027255
Scholar articles
JM Tybur, D Lieberman, L Fan, TR Kupfer, RE de Vries - Psychological science, 2020