Collaborative Research: Grounding the Behavioral Immune System in Mental and Physiological Processes

合作研究：在心理和生理过程中奠定行为免疫系统的基础

• 批准号: 1226731
• 负责人: Joshua Ackerman
• 金额: $ 12.92万
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-10-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1226731&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Grounding; Behavioral; Immune

Humans, like many other vertebrate species, developed a physiological immune system designed to detect and destroy harmful organisms that have entered the body. Recent research suggests that, in addition to this physiological immune system, there evolved a behavioral immune system comprised of psychological and behavioral mechanisms designed to detect and defend against pathogen threats even before they enter the body. For example, people are quick to notice and avoid others who display cues of infection (e.g., coughing, lesions). The studies in this proposal will examine the behavioral immune system in depth, and link its action to multiple aspects of physiological and psychological functioning.Past research has treated the physiological and behavioral immune systems independently. Yet, an evolutionary perspective suggests that there should be an adaptive relationship between physiological and psychological functioning. Thus, the studies in this proposal test the prediction that concerns about disease increase behaviors designed to prevent initial contagion (e.g., avoiding others who appear sick), as well as increase physiological processes designed to destroy pathogens that have entered the body (e.g., secretion of cytokines). Activation of both behavioral and physiological immune systems would provide the best possibility of overcoming a disease threat. This research also examines the specific processes underlying behavioral immune system activation. To be effective, the behavioral immune system must be sensitive to the possibility of contagion. Some physical characteristics are more associated with disease than other physical characteristics (e.g., the presence of a rash more than hair color). In addition, sometimes people feel more susceptible to disease than at other times (e.g., after touching a bloody cut versus after washing their hands). We propose that both of these factors - implicit disease associations and perceptions of disease susceptibility - influence the degree to which the behavioral immune system is activated. Last, this research examines ways of down-regulating behavioral immune system activation. Prior research suggests that disease concerns can lead people to avoid and have negative attitudes toward individuals who, although are not actually contagious, display physical characteristics that are stereotypically associated with disease (e.g., obesity). Thus, understanding ways of down-regulating such disease-based anti-social behavior is key for reducing prejudice and discrimination. Our studies examine how minimizing disease-associations (e.g., decreasing the link between disease and obesity) as well as reducing perceptions of disease susceptibility (e.g., making people feel immunized against disease) can reduce behavioral immune system activation and therefore decrease prejudice toward groups stereotypically associated with disease.In sum, the studies in this proposal integrate research from social cognition, immunology, and evolutionary psychology to test three broad hypotheses: (1) Behavioral immune responses to disease threat are complemented by anticipatory physiological immune responses (2) Behavioral immune system activation is mediated by those physiological responses and by specific implicit cognitions, and (3) The behavioral immune system can be down-regulated by manipulating those implicit cognitions. The results of these studies will have an important impact on theoretical and empirical work in social psychology, cognitive science, and other related domains of study. The proposed research is therefore interdisciplinary in nature, and will foster synergistic connections between research in domains that historically have had relatively little contact but are increasingly being integrated (e.g., psychophysiology and prejudice). Additionally, the execution of the proposed research will involve training for both graduate and undergraduate studentsfrom groups underrepresented in science careers.

像许多其他脊椎动物物种一样，人类发展了一种生理免疫系统，旨在检测和摧毁进入人体的有害生物。最近的研究表明，除了这种生理免疫系统外，还进化出了一种行为免疫系统，包括心理和行为机制，旨在甚至在病原体威胁进入人体之前就对其进行检测和防御。例如，人们很快就能注意到并避开其他显示感染迹象(如咳嗽、皮损)的人。这项建议中的研究将深入研究行为免疫系统，并将其作用与生理和心理功能的多个方面联系起来。过去的研究已经独立对待生理和行为免疫系统。然而，从进化的角度来看，生理和心理功能之间应该存在一种适应性关系。因此，这项提案中的研究验证了这样一种预测，即对疾病的担忧会增加旨在防止最初感染的行为(例如，避免其他看起来生病的人)，以及增加旨在摧毁进入人体的病原体的生理过程(例如，细胞因子的分泌)。行为和生理免疫系统的激活将为克服疾病威胁提供最好的可能性。这项研究还检查了行为免疫系统激活的特定过程。为了有效，行为免疫系统必须对传染的可能性保持敏感。一些身体特征比其他身体特征与疾病更相关(例如，皮疹的存在比头发的颜色更多)。此外，有时人们感觉比其他时候更容易生病(例如，在触摸流血的伤口后比在洗手后)。我们认为，这两个因素--隐含的疾病关联和对疾病易感性的看法--都会影响行为免疫系统被激活的程度。最后，这项研究考察了下调行为免疫系统激活的方法。先前的研究表明，对疾病的担忧会导致人们避免并对那些虽然实际上不具有传染性，但表现出与疾病(例如肥胖)典型相关的身体特征的人持负面态度。因此，了解如何抑制这种基于疾病的反社会行为是减少偏见和歧视的关键。我们的研究考察了最小化疾病关联(例如，减少疾病和肥胖之间的联系)以及减少对疾病易感性的感知(例如，使人们感到对疾病具有免疫力)如何减少行为免疫系统的激活，从而减少对与疾病相关的刻板印象的偏见。总之，该建议中的研究整合了来自社会认知、免疫学和进化心理学的研究，以检验三个广泛的假设：(1)对疾病威胁的行为免疫反应由预期的生理免疫反应补充(2)行为免疫系统的激活是由这些生理反应和特定的内隐认知调节的，(3)通过操纵这些内隐认知，行为免疫系统可以被下调。这些研究成果将对社会心理学、认知科学等相关研究领域的理论和实证工作产生重要影响。因此，拟议的研究是跨学科性质的，并将促进在历史上接触相对较少但正在日益整合的领域(例如心理生理学和偏见)的研究之间的协同联系。此外，执行拟议的研究将涉及对研究生和本科生的培训，这些学生来自科学职业中代表性不足的群体。