The threat of infectious disease changes how people think and act in a number of ways. Some of these changes are obvious, such as hoarding and increased anxiety. Other changes are less obvious, such as increased negative feelings toward groups associated with disease and greater aversion to novelty. Both types of changes have significant implications for societal well-being and health. Infectious disease was once the leading source of mortality for humans. As a result, humans evolved a number of behavioral and cultural responses to help avoid infection. The spread of coronavirus provides a unique opportunity to explore important theoretical questions to better understand the psychological processes relating to perceptions of disease. This project investigates how disease cues are perceived and how they influence behavior in the context of a real-world threat (COVID-19). The research tests how local disease rates and other contextual factors influence the perceptions of disease cues and how this is influenced by various forms of bias. The research also tests the extent to which the spread of the coronavirus shapes the health-related behaviors and cognition of groups who are stigmatically associated with infectious disease. Because of the associated stigma of disease, it is hypothesized that some groups will avoid seeking treatment and will mask their disease symptoms, further exacerbating a dire situation. Phenomena cued by infectious disease threat (such as prejudice, stigma, or policy preferences) can have important consequences for efforts to reduce and treat infectious disease during epidemics. Refining such models will inform public health responses regarding the current outbreak and policies pertaining to future outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic will have broad economic and social impacts. Governments, institutions, and corporations will benefit from further understanding and modeling as they seek to respond and adapt to this crisis and future crises.
This RAPID project employs a mixed-methods approach (using big data and archival time-series data analyses, large-scale longitudinal surveys, and a cross-national study) to answer key questions regarding the social dynamics of how humans respond to infectious disease threat. By studying the spread of coronavirus in concert with changes in prejudices, social attitudes, and other social variables, the research tests the hypothesis that the behavioral immune system produces specific threat perceptions, cultural ideologies, behaviors, and practices associated with disease avoidance and other adaptive responses to infectious disease threat. The research assesses the extent to which prejudiced and discriminatory reactions to a variety of targets (ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, the obese, the elderly, immigrants) are specific to disease-related targets or are generalized to all outgroups. It also assesses the experiences and health-relevant decision making of groups who are sometimes stigmatized by their association with infectious diseases, lending insight into how stigma and prejudice influence health-related behaviors. The project aims to create new theoretical bridges among a diverse range of disciplines including social psychology, evolutionary psychology, epidemiology, public health, and econometrics.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
