Individual Differences in the Behavioral Immune System and the Emergence of Cultural Systems

Cultural variation may be evoked through the interaction between domain-specific psychological mechanisms and environmental conditions (Gangestad, Haselton, & Buss, 2006 ). One such constellation of mechanisms is the behavioral immune system, a cluster of psychological processes evolved to promo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social psychology (Göttingen, Germany) Germany), 2012, Vol.43 (4), p.174-184
Main Authors: Clay, Russ, Terrizzi, John A, Shook, Natalie J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collectivism
Cross Cultural Differences
Crosscultural Differences
Disgust
Female
Health Behavior
Human
Immune System
Immunreaktion
Immunsystem
Individual Differences
Individueller Unterschied
Interkulturelle Differenz
Kollektivismus
Kultur
Male
Prediction
Value Orientations
Values
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Summary:Cultural variation may be evoked through the interaction between domain-specific psychological mechanisms and environmental conditions (Gangestad, Haselton, & Buss, 2006 ). One such constellation of mechanisms is the behavioral immune system, a cluster of psychological processes evolved to promote disease-avoidance ( Schaller, 2006 ). Previous research demonstrated that higher levels of both historic and contemporary pathogen prevalence are predictive of collectivism across geopolitical regions ( Fincher, Thornhill, Murray, & Schaller, 2008 ). Across two studies, we demonstrate that individual differences in behavioral immune system reactivity (e.g., disgust sensitivity, germ aversion) are associated with variable endorsement of a vertical collectivist cultural orientation and differential value priorities, which are indicative of cultural differences. These findings provide support at an individual level for the proposition of evoked culture.
ISSN:1864-9335
2151-2590
DOI:10.1027/1864-9335/a000118