A historical evaluation of the disease avoidance theory of xenophobia

Abstract

Historical psychology is emerging as a multidisciplinary field for studying psychological phenomena in a historical context. Historical records can also serve as testbeds for psychological theories, particularly the evolutionary ones. In Study 1 we aimed to gather evidence to evaluate the disease avoidance theory of xenophobia by analyzing the narratives of European explorers from the15th and 16th centuries. Contrary to the theory’s expectations, the narratives revealed numerous instances of close physical contact between the explorers and the native populations. Furthermore, rather than using disgust-laden words, the explorers portrayed the natives in a positive light. In Study 2, we employed a word embedding algorithm to explore whether native group names and their unfamiliar appearance were associated with disgust-laden words in the 19th century travel literature. The results indicated that while native group names showed such associations, their appearance did not. Finally, through network analysis, we demonstrated that embedded words such as “savages” mediated the perception of native groups as potential disease-threat. The findings highlight the significance of cultural factors that evolve over time, rather than cognitive adaptations believed to have evolved prior to the emergence of human culture, in explaining xenophobia.