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The Parasite-Stress Theory of Sociality and the Behavioral Immune System

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Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Psychology

Part of the book series: Evolutionary Psychology ((EVOLPSYCH))

Abstract

The parasite-stress theory of sociality is a new perspective on human social psychology and behavior. As an ecological and evolutionary theory of values or core preferences, it applies widely across domains of human social life and human affairs. We explain and expand the theory, and review a number of findings its application has discovered. Fundamental to the theory is the behavioral immune system. We emphasize that the human behavioral immune system is not restricted to psychological features and behaviors for avoiding contact with infectious disease. It includes behaviors of in-group social preference, altruism, alliance, and conformity that manage the negative effects of infectious diseases, mate choice to increase offspring defense against parasites, the regulation of interaction with pets, culinary behavior, and components of personality. The contagion-avoidance aspect of behavioral immunity is richer than usually conceived as well, as it includes the preference for local region (philopatry) and hence avoidance of foreignness in people and places where novel parasites may occur. It is unlikely that any features of human behavioral immunity are parasite adaptations for increasing transmission to new hosts because the behavioral immune system promotes genetic immunity to local parasites and results in reduced transmission of parasites within the in-group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Castetter Hall, 87131-1091, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Randy Thornhill Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK

    Corey L. Fincher Ph.D.

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  1. Randy Thornhill Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Randy Thornhill Ph.D. .

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  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Lisa L. M. Welling

  3. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

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Thornhill, R., Fincher, C. (2015). The Parasite-Stress Theory of Sociality and the Behavioral Immune System. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Welling, L., Shackelford, T. (eds) Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Psychology. Evolutionary Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12697-5_32

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