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. 2024 Jul;50(7):1051-1065.
doi: 10.1177/01461672231160655. Epub 2023 Mar 21.

Do Experimental Manipulations of Pathogen Avoidance Motivations Influence Conformity?

Florian van Leeuwen  1 , Bastian Jaeger  1 , Willem W A Sleegers  1 , Michael Bang Petersen  2
Affiliations

Do Experimental Manipulations of Pathogen Avoidance Motivations Influence Conformity?

Florian van Leeuwen et al. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

By conforming to ingroup norms, individuals coordinate with other group members, preserve cohesion, and avoid costs of exclusion. Previous experiments have shown that increased concerns about infectious disease increase conformity. However, coordination with other group members has multiple benefits, most of which exist independent of pathogenic infection. Hence, a strong causal effect of pathogen avoidance motivations on conformity seems unlikely. Results from five experiments (N = 1,931) showed only limited support for the hypothesis that experimentally increasing pathogen avoidance motivations influences conformity. Overall, our findings are not consistent with the notion that the human mind contains a fast-acting psychological mechanism that regulates conformity as a function of short-term pathogen avoidance motivations.

Keywords: behavioral immune system; conformity; disgust; norms; pathogen avoidance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Forest Plot for the Meta-Analysis of Effects of the Infection Risk Manipulation on Conformity RE Model = Random Effects Model. Note. The effect sizes shown are Cohen’s d.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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