Strangers look sicker (with implications in times of COVID-19).
Bioessays
; 43(3): e2000158, 2021 03.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33215727
ABSTRACT
We animals have evolved a variety of mechanisms to avoid conspecifics who might be infected. It is currently unclear whether and why this "behavioral immune system" targets unfamiliar individuals more than familiar ones. Here I answer this question in humans, using publicly available data of a recent study on 1969 participants from India and 1615 from the USA. The apparent health of a male stranger, as estimated from his face, and the comfort with contact with him were a direct function of his similarity to the men in the local community. This held true regardless of whether the face carried overt signs of infection. I conclude that our behavioral immune system is finely tuned to degrees of outgroupness - and that cues of outgroupness are partly processed as cues of infectiousness. These findings, which were consistent across the two cultures, support the notion that the pathogens of strangers are perceived as more dangerous.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Reacción de Prevención
/
Señales (Psicología)
/
Reconocimiento Facial
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COVID-19
Límite:
Adult
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Animals
/
Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Bioessays
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia