Immunizing Against Prejudice: Effects of Disease Protection on Attitudes Toward Out-Groups
Immunizing Against Prejudice: Effects of Disease Protection on Attitudes Toward Out-Groups
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DOI：
10.1177/0956797611417261
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发表时间：
2011-12-01
影响因子：
8.2
通讯作者：
Bargh, John A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Huang, Julie Y.;Sedlovskaya, Alexandra;Bargh, John A.
当代的人际偏见部分源自为保护人们免受传染病威胁而进化出来的心理机制。这种行为免疫系统有效地促进了疾病的避免，但也导致了对非合法疾病携带者的过度偏见。在三项研究中，我们测试了两种现代形式的疾病保护（疫苗接种和洗手）的经历是否会减弱对疾病的关注和对外群体的偏见之间的关系。研究1表明，当受到疾病威胁时，接种疫苗的参与者对移民的偏见比未接种疫苗的参与者要少。在研究2中，我们发现从免疫角度构建疫苗接种信息消除了慢性细菌厌恶与偏见之间的关系。在研究3中，我们通过让一些参与者洗手来直接操纵参与者对疾病的保护，并发现这种干预显著影响了参与者对外群体成员的看法。我们的研究表明，公共卫生干预可以通过为偏见提供新颖、现代的补救措施，在直接与健康相关的领域之外造福社会。
Contemporary interpersonal biases are partially derived from psychological mechanisms that evolved to protect people against the threat of contagious disease. This behavioral immune system effectively promotes disease avoidance but also results in an overgeneralized prejudice toward people who are not legitimate carriers of disease. In three studies, we tested whether experiences with two modern forms of disease protection (vaccination and hand washing) attenuate the relationship between concerns about disease and prejudice against out-groups. Study 1 demonstrated that when threatened with disease, vaccinated participants exhibited less prejudice toward immigrants than unvaccinated participants did. In Study 2, we found that framing vaccination messages in terms of immunity eliminated the relationship between chronic germ aversion and prejudice. In Study 3, we directly manipulated participants' protection from disease by having some participants wash their hands and found that this intervention significantly influenced participants' perceptions of out-group members. Our research suggests that public-health interventions can benefit society in areas beyond immediate health-related domains by informing novel, modern remedies for prejudice.