The Behavioral Immune System: How does it contribute to our understanding of human behavior?
Catégorie
Book Section
Auteurs
Thiebaut, G, Méot, A, Witt, A, Prokop, P, Bonin, P,
Année
2021
Titre
The Behavioral Immune System: How does it contribute to our understanding of human behavior?
Journal / Livre / Conférence
Advances in Psychology Research
Résumé
The aim of the present chapter is to present theoretical and empirical arguments in support of the existence of a defense system against pathogens: the Behavioral Immune System (BIS). Complementary to the well-known biological immune system, this system represents a recent theoretical proposition which has given rise to an increasing number of studies. After a description of the functional characteristics of the BIS, we will describe a range of studies on the cognitive (e.g., perception of pathogens, memorization of sources of contamination), emotional (e.g., role of disgust), motivational and social (e.g., discrimination, xenophobia) aspects of this system. In the context of the global pandemic due to the ‘SARS-CoV-2’ coronavirus, we hope to provide an overview of a number of works, rooted in the evolutionary sciences, which strongly suggest that pathogens, which are our evolutionary companions, shape a large number of our psychological behaviors.
Pages
1-59
Mots-clés
behavioral immune system; pathogens; disgust; evolutionary psychology