Effects of Disease Threat and Attitude Similarity on Willingness to Help: The Mediating Role of Disgust

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-30-2021

Publication Title

Psychological Reports

First page number:

1

Last page number:

19

Abstract

The current research tested the hypothesis that an increase in perceived disease vulnerability would create more feelings of disgust and a reduced willingness to help persons with dissimilar attitudes. To test these hypotheses, two studies were performed. In the first study, 173 university undergraduates indicated their willingness to help a target person who held similar or dissimilar attitudes. Then the participants’ feelings of disgust about helping, and perceived vulnerability to disease were measured. In the second study, 127 university undergraduates read materials designed to make a disease threat or a non-disease threat salient then indicated their willingness to help a target person with similar or dissimilar attitudes. As predicted a concern about disease and attitude similarity interacted to influence willingness to help and this effect was mediated by feelings of disgust.

Keywords

Disease vulnerability; Disgust; Helping behavior; Outgroup

Disciplines

Cognitive Psychology

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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