Zoonotic and Non-Zoonotic Diseases in Relation to Human Personality and Societal Values: Support for the Parasite-Stress Model
The parasite-stress model of human sociality proposes that humans' ontogenetic experiences with infectious diseases as well as their evolutionary historical interactions with these diseases exert causal influences on human psychology and social behavior. This model has been supported by cross-n...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2010-04-01
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| Series: | Evolutionary Psychology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491000800201 |
| _version_ | 1797303479042048000 |
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| author | Randy Thornhill Corey L. Fincher Damian R. Murray Mark Schaller |
| author_facet | Randy Thornhill Corey L. Fincher Damian R. Murray Mark Schaller |
| author_sort | Randy Thornhill |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The parasite-stress model of human sociality proposes that humans' ontogenetic experiences with infectious diseases as well as their evolutionary historical interactions with these diseases exert causal influences on human psychology and social behavior. This model has been supported by cross-national relationships between parasite prevalence and human personality traits, and between parasite prevalence and societal values. Importantly, the parasite-stress model emphasizes the causal role of non-zoonotic parasites (which have the capacity for human-to-human transmission), rather than zoonotic parasites (which do not), but previous studies failed to distinguish between these conceptually distinct categories. The present investigation directly tested the differential predictive effects of zoonotic and non-zoonotic (both human-specific and multihost) parasite prevalence on personality traits and societal values. Supporting the parasite-stress model, cross-national differences in personality traits (unrestricted sexuality, extraversion, openness to experiences) and in societal values (individualism, collectivism, gender equality, democratization) are predicted specifically by non-zoonotic parasite prevalence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:54:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aba49ad269ef4ff1a12832a41ae44bb9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1474-7049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:54:11Z |
| publishDate | 2010-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-aba49ad269ef4ff1a12832a41ae44bb92024-02-18T16:03:43ZengSAGE PublishingEvolutionary Psychology1474-70492010-04-01810.1177/14747049100080020110.1177_147470491000800201Zoonotic and Non-Zoonotic Diseases in Relation to Human Personality and Societal Values: Support for the Parasite-Stress ModelRandy ThornhillCorey L. FincherDamian R. MurrayMark SchallerThe parasite-stress model of human sociality proposes that humans' ontogenetic experiences with infectious diseases as well as their evolutionary historical interactions with these diseases exert causal influences on human psychology and social behavior. This model has been supported by cross-national relationships between parasite prevalence and human personality traits, and between parasite prevalence and societal values. Importantly, the parasite-stress model emphasizes the causal role of non-zoonotic parasites (which have the capacity for human-to-human transmission), rather than zoonotic parasites (which do not), but previous studies failed to distinguish between these conceptually distinct categories. The present investigation directly tested the differential predictive effects of zoonotic and non-zoonotic (both human-specific and multihost) parasite prevalence on personality traits and societal values. Supporting the parasite-stress model, cross-national differences in personality traits (unrestricted sexuality, extraversion, openness to experiences) and in societal values (individualism, collectivism, gender equality, democratization) are predicted specifically by non-zoonotic parasite prevalence.https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491000800201 |
| spellingShingle | Randy Thornhill Corey L. Fincher Damian R. Murray Mark Schaller Zoonotic and Non-Zoonotic Diseases in Relation to Human Personality and Societal Values: Support for the Parasite-Stress Model Evolutionary Psychology |
| title | Zoonotic and Non-Zoonotic Diseases in Relation to Human Personality and Societal Values: Support for the Parasite-Stress Model |
| title_full | Zoonotic and Non-Zoonotic Diseases in Relation to Human Personality and Societal Values: Support for the Parasite-Stress Model |
| title_fullStr | Zoonotic and Non-Zoonotic Diseases in Relation to Human Personality and Societal Values: Support for the Parasite-Stress Model |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zoonotic and Non-Zoonotic Diseases in Relation to Human Personality and Societal Values: Support for the Parasite-Stress Model |
| title_short | Zoonotic and Non-Zoonotic Diseases in Relation to Human Personality and Societal Values: Support for the Parasite-Stress Model |
| title_sort | zoonotic and non zoonotic diseases in relation to human personality and societal values support for the parasite stress model |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491000800201 |
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