Contagious Health Risk and Precautionary Social Distancing

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Helge Giese¹  Martina Gamp¹  F. Marijn Stok¹  Wolfgang Gaissmaier¹  Harald T. Schupp¹  Britta Renner¹ 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz;Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University

关键词: risk perception;    social network;    contagious disease;    flu;    behavioral immune system;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.685134

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background Since humans are social animals, social relations are incredibly important. However, in cases of contagious diseases such as the flu, social contacts also pose a health risk. According to prominent health behavior change theories, perceiving a risk for one’s health motivates precautionary behaviors. The “behavioral immune system” approach suggests that social distancing might be triggered as a precautionary, evolutionarily learned behavior to prevent transmitting contagious diseases through social contact. This study examines the link between personal risk perception for an infectious disease and precautionary behavior for disease-prevention in the context of social relationships.

【 授权许可】

CC BY