The skin crawls, the stomach turns: ectoparasites and pathogens elicit distinct defensive responses in humans-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

The skin crawls, the stomach turns: ectoparasites and pathogens elicit distinct defensive responses in humans

Published:2021-07-28 Issue:1955 Volume:288 Page:20210376
ISSN:0962-8452
Container-title:Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
language:en
Short-container-title:Proc. R. Soc. B.

Author:

Kupfer Tom R.¹²^ORCID,Fessler Daniel M. T.³⁴⁵^ORCID,Wu Bozhi³,Hwang Tiffany³⁶,Sparks Adam Maxwell³⁴⁷^ORCID,Alas Sonia³,Samore Theodore³⁴,Lal Vedika²,Sakhamuru Tanvi P.³⁸,Holbrook Colin⁹

Affiliation:

1. Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK

2. Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

3. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

4. UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA

5. UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

6. Center for Data Sciences, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA

7. Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

8. University of California, Davis School of Law

9. Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA

Abstract

Disgust has long been viewed as a primary motivator of defensive responses to threats posed by both microscopic pathogens and macroscopic ectoparasites. Although disgust can defend effectively against pathogens encountered through ingestion or incidental contact, it offers limited protection against ectoparasites, which actively pursue a host and attach to its surface. Humans might, therefore, possess a distinct ectoparasite defence system—including cutaneous sensory mechanisms and grooming behaviours—functionally suited to guard the body's surface. In two US studies and one in China, participants ( N = 1079) viewed a range of ectoparasite- and pathogen-relevant video stimuli and reported their feelings, physiological sensations, and behavioural motivations. Participants reported more surface-guarding responses towards ectoparasite stimuli than towards pathogen stimuli, and more ingestion/contamination-reduction responses towards pathogen stimuli than towards ectoparasite stimuli. Like other species, humans appear to possess evolved psychobehavioural ectoparasite defence mechanisms that are distinct from pathogen defence mechanisms.

Funder

UCLA

European Union

Publisher

The Royal Society

Subject

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Environmental Science,General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine

Link

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2021.0376

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