Distrust As a Disease Avoidance Strategy: Individual Differences in Disgust Sensitivity Regulate Generalized Social Trust

Abstract

Throughout human evolutionary history, cooperative contact with others has been fundamental for human survival. At the same time, social contact has been a source of threats. In this article, we focus on one particular viable threat, communicable disease, and investigate how motivations to avoid pathogens influence people's propensity to interact and cooperate with others, as measured by individual differences in generalized social trust. While extant studies on pathogen avoidance have argued that such motivations should prompt people to avoid interactions with outgroups specifically, we argue that these motivations should prompt people to avoid others more broadly. Empirically, we utilize two convenience samples and a large nationally representative sample of US citizens to demonstrate the existence of a robust and replicable effect of individual differences in pathogen disgust sensitivity on generalized social trust. We furthermore compare the effects of pathogen disgust sensitivity on generalized social trust and outgroup prejudice and explore whether generalized social trust to some extent constitutes a pathway between pathogen avoidance motivations and prejudice.

Hormonal correlates of pathogen disgust: testing the compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis

“…For example, greater hostility to out-group individuals during the first trimester of pregnancy has been interpreted as evidence for the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis because out-group individuals putatively pose a greater pathogen threat than do in-group individuals (Navarrete, Fessler, & Eng, 2007). However, the hypothesis that hostility to out-group individuals necessarily reflects pathogen avoidance has recently been extensively critiqued (Aarøe, Osmundsen, & Petersen, 2016;de Barra & Curtis, 2012;Tybur et al, 2016). Reports that women show stronger aversions to individuals displaying facial cues of illness (e.g., pallor) at highprogesterone points in the menstrual cycle (Jones et al, 2005) have also been interpreted as evidence for the Compensatory Prophylaxis Hypothesis.…”

Does Predisposition Toward Disgust Affect Emotional Response to Political Leaders? Evidence from the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election

“…Although research suggests politically conservative individuals are more emotionally responsive to fear‐ and disgust‐eliciting stimuli than are liberals (Hatemi and McDermott, ; Hibbing, Smith, and Alford, ; Inbar, Pizarro, and Bloom, ; Smith et al., ), the relationship between these constructs may be mediated by other factors such as trust and adherence to traditional norms (Aarøe, Osmundsen, and Petersen, ; Aarøe, Petersen, and Arceneaux, ; Tybur et al., ). Regardless of the nature of the connection between political ideology and traits predisposing individuals to these emotions, fear and disgust are key for groups' surviving and thriving (Al‐Shawaf and Lewis, ).…”

“…Regardless of the nature of the connection between political ideology and traits predisposing individuals to these emotions, fear and disgust are key for groups' surviving and thriving (Al‐Shawaf and Lewis, ). However, while the emotion of fear performs a crucial role in addressing threats to safety and security, disgust may play a particularly powerful role when dealing with out‐groups (Aarøe, Osmundsen, and Petersen, ; Tybur et al., ). Thus, the emotional response of disgust is particularly salient for understanding much of political attitudes and behavior (Neuberg, Kenrick, and Schaller, ).…”

“…Disgust responses are related to attitudes and policies toward such out‐groups as homosexuals (Aarøe, Osmundsen, and Petersen, ; Adams, Stewart, and Blanchar, ; Cottrell and Neuberg, ; Crawford, Inbar, and Maloney, ; Inbar, Pizarro, and Bloom, ; Smith et al., ; Terrizzi, Shook, and Ventis, ), immigrants (Aarøe, Osmundsen, and Petersen, ; Aarøe, Petersen, and Arceneaux, ; Brenner and Inbar, ; Hodson and Costello, ), and foreigners (Brenner and Inbar, ; Hodson and Costello, ; Navarrete and Fessler, ). Likewise, disgust sensitivity traits correlate strongly with a range of ideological differences, including political conservatism‐liberalism (Brenner and Inbar, ; Helzer and Pizarro, ; Hodson and Costello, ; Inbar, Pizarro, and Bloom, ; Inbar et al., ; Terrizzi, Shook, and Ventis, ).…”

“…Importantly, disgust sensitivity is multidimensional and specific disgust sensitivities (e.g., pathogen, moral, and sexual disgust sensitivities) differentially relate to specific ideological attitudes and behaviors (Tybur et al., ). Furthermore, disgust may not only act directly on attitudes concerning threatening groups and individuals, but might operate indirectly through beliefs and attitudes (Aarøe, Osmundsen, and Petersen, ; Olatunji, ).…”