Abstract
Infectious disease is an ever-present threat in daily life. Recent literature indicates that people manage this threat with a suite of antipathogenic psychological and behavioral defense mechanisms, which motivate the avoidance of people and objects bearing cues to pathogen risk. Here, we demonstrate that self-image is also impacted by these mechanisms. In seven studies, pathogen cues led individuals chronically averse to germs to express greater concern about their own physical appearance. Correspondingly, these people exhibited behavioral intentions and decisions intended to conceal or improve their appearance, such as purchasing facial products, taking pharmaceuticals, and undergoing cosmetic surgery. This work opens a new area of investigation for infectious-disease psychology research and highlights the central role played by physical appearance in pathogen-related cognition.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 228-241 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Psychological Science |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 21 Nov 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2018 |
Funding
This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BCS-1226731 to J. M. Ackerman and by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation program (Grant Agreement StG-2015 680002-HBIS to J. M. Tybur).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Science Foundation | BCS-1226731 |
| Horizon 2020 Framework Programme | 680002, StG-2015 680002-HBIS |
| European Research Council |
Keywords
- behavioral immune system
- evolutionary psychology
- infectious disease
- open data
- open materials
- physical appearance
- preregistered
- self-evaluation