Pathogen-avoidance mechanisms and the stigmatization of obese people
نویسندگان
چکیده
Humans possess pathogen-avoidance mechanisms that respond to the visual perception of morphological anomalies in others. We investigated whether obesitymay trigger thesemechanisms. Study 1 revealed that peoplewho are chronically concerned about pathogen transmission havemore negative attitudes toward obese people; this effect was especially pronounced following visual exposure to obese individuals. Study 2 revealed that obesity is implicitly associated with disease-connoting concepts; this effect was especially pronounced when the threat of pathogen transmission is highly salient. Evolved pathogen-detection mechanisms are hypersensitive, and they appear to play a role in the stigmatization of obese people. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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تاریخ انتشار 2007