Cited by 403Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionEvolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorPsychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment

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Infection Breeds Reticence: The Effects of Disease Salience on Self-Perceptions of Personality and Behavioral Avoidance Tendencies

Mortensen, Chad R., Becker, D. Vaughn, Ackerman, Joshua M., Neuberg, Steven L., Kenrick, Douglas T.·2010·Psychological Science

DOI 10.1177/0956797610361706

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Abstract

Social living brings humans great rewards, but also associated dangers, such as increased risk of infection from others. Although the body's immune system is integral to combating disease, it is physiologically costly. Less costly are evolved mechanisms for promoting avoidance of people who are potentially infectious, such as perceiving oneself as less social and increasing the tendency to make avoidant movements. In Experiment 1, exposure to a disease prime led participants to rate themselves as less extraverted than did exposure to a control prime, and led participants high in perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD) to rate themselves as less agreeable and less open to experience than did exposure to a control prime. In Experiment 2, a disease prime facilitated avoidant tendencies in arm movements when participants viewed photographs of faces, especially for participants high in PVD. Together, these findings reveal functional changes in perception and behavior that would serve to promote avoidance of potentially infectious individuals.

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Authors: Mortensen, C. R., Becker, D. V., Ackerman, J. M., Neuberg, S. L., & Kenrick, D. T.
Affiliations: Arizona State University (US)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Corresponding author: Mortensen, Chad R.
ORCID: Ackerman, Joshua M.
Neuberg, Steven L.
Kenrick, Douglas T.
Venue: Psychological Science
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2010-02-05
Volume: 21
Issue: 3
Pages: 440-447
ISSN: 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
1467-9280
DOI: 10.1177/0956797610361706
OpenAlex: W2165533603
Cited by: 403
References: 45
Citations by year: 2026: 10 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 63 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 27 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 19
FWCI: 28.42
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH064734, MH064734)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Keywords: disease avoidance, infection risk, perceived vulnerability to disease, self-perception, extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, avoidance behavior, arm movement, face perception, social avoidance
MeSH terms: Attitude to Health, Avoidance Learning, Character, Cues, Defense Mechanisms, Extraversion, Psychological, Female, Humans, Infections, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Personality Inventory, Psychomotor Performance, Reaction Time, Self Concept

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Infection Breeds Reticence: The Effects of Disease Salience on Self-Perceptions of Personality and Behavioral Avoidance Tendencies

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