The Behavioral Immune System (and Why It Matters)

By Mark Schaller, Justin H. Park. 2011

960 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Like many other animals, human beings engage in behavioral defenses against infectious pathogens. The behavioral immune system consists of a suite of psychological mechanisms that (a) detect cues connoting the presence of infectious pathogens in the immediate environment, (b) trigger disease-relevant emotional and cognitive responses, and thus (c) facilitate behavioral avoidance of pathogen infection. However, the system responds to an overly general set of superficial cues, which can result in aversive responses to things (including people) that pose no actual threat of pathogen infection. In addition, the system is flexible, such that more strongly aversive responses occur under conditions in which perceivers are (or merely perceive themselves to be) more vulnerable to pathogen infection. Recent research reveals many provocative implications—for the experience of disgust, for extraversion and social interaction, for xenophobia and other prejudices, and for the origins of cultural differences.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9725f10b581dc0f2ff9b719eaaef9555633ff53d

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Citations in the corpus

When Do Consumers Avoid Imperfections? Superficial Packaging Damage as a Contamination Cue (2016, background): “This set of mechanisms, dubbed the “behavioral immune system,” predisposes people to avoid threats that may cause physical harm or illness (Schaller and Park 2011).”
The behavioral immune system: Current concerns and future directions (2018, background): “…threat, nor all people identical levels of infection‐related vulnerability, the behavioral immune system exhibits functional flexibility—sensitivity to the costs and benefits of pathogen avoidance (e.g., Schaller & Neuberg, 2012; Schaller & Park, 2011; Schaller, Park, & Kenrick, 2007).”
The Behavioral Immune System: Implications for Social Cognition, Social Interaction, and Social Influence (2016, background): “Within this scholarly tradition, there has recently emerged a burgeoning body of research on a motivational system that appears to have evolved as a means of facilitating behavioral prophylaxis against infectious diseases—a sort of “behavioral immune system” (Schaller, 2016; Schaller & Park, 2011).”
The Behavioral Immune System (2015, background): “Many other behaviors—some obvious and some not—appear to be governed by a suite of more ancient and functionally specific stimulus-response mechanisms that comprise a sort of “behavioral immune system” (Schaller, 2011; Schaller & Park, 2011).”
Regional variation in pathogen prevalence predicts endorsement of group-focused moral concerns (2012, background): “…by pathogens has led to the evolution not only of physiological defenses (e.g., the vertebrate immune system), but also of behavioral defenses that facilitate avoidance of pathogens (Curtis & Biran, 2001; Kurzban & Leary, 2001; Loehle, 1995; Møller, Dufva, & Allander, 1993; Schaller & Park, 2011).”
Perceived threat of infectious disease and its implications for sexual attitudes (2013, background): “In recent years there has emerged a considerable literature on the subjective perception of threat posed by infectious diseases and its implications for affect, cognition, and behavior (Curtis, de Barra, & Aunger, 2011; Oaten, Stevenson, & Case, 2009; Schaller & Park, 2011).”
Danger, Disease, and the Nature of Prejudice(s) (2012, background): “For these reasons, it appears that there also evolved a complementary form of defense: A "behavioral immune system" that provides proactive defense against disease-causing pathogens (Neuberg et al., 2011; Schaller, 2011; Schaller & Duncan, 2007; Schaller & Park, 2011).”
The behavioral immune system and social conservatism: a meta-analysis (2013, background): “It is likely that humans have evolved domain specific mechanisms that provide different solutions for the varied threats that outgroups pose (see Neuberg, Kenrick, & Schaller, 2011).”
In Godlessness We Distrust: Using Social Psychology to Solve the Puzzle of Anti-atheist Prejudice (2013, background): “As a result, people have developed a number of specific psychological and behavioral adaptations for negotiating potential disease risks, including avoidance of individuals who are heuristically judged to be more likely carriers of exotic pathogens (e.g., Schaller, 2011; Schaller & Park, 2011).”
The science and philosophy of martial arts: exploring the connections between the cognitive, physical, and spiritual aspects of martial arts (2024, positive): “For this, our first line of defense is the behavioral immune system (Schaller and Park, 2011), a suite of psychological and behavioral mechanisms that evolved alongside the classic immune system, designed to detect infections in the environment and protect against their transmission.”
How Disgust Influences Health Purity Attitudes (2016, background): “Disgust is characterized by many as part of a ‘behavioral immune system’ that motivates avoidance of people or situations that might result in contamination, such as the consumption of toxins, physical contact with an ill person, or any action that involves puncturing or breaking the skin (Neuberg e”
Impact of the perceived threat of COVID-19 on variety-seeking (2020, neutral): “Perception of disease threat The threat of pathogens and parasites historically generates exlicit or implicit reactions in humans ( Murray and Schaller, 2010 ; avarrete and Fessler, 2006 ; Schaller and Park, 2011 ; Wu and hang, 2012 ).”
Fundamental motives: How evolutionary needs influence consumer behavior (2013, background): “Keywords: Evolutionary psychology; Motivation; Decision making; Consumer behavior”
How personality and policy predict pandemic behavior: Understanding sheltering-in-place in 55 countries at the onset of COVID-19. (2020, background): “…of more open individuals often manifests in a less cautious attitude toward novel and unfamiliar things, implying that these individuals may be more likely to put themselves at elevated risk for contracting infectious diseases and pathogens (Schaller & Murray, 2008; Schaller & Park, 2011).”