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Body odour disgust sensitivity is associated with xenophobia: evidence from nine countries across five continents
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6116-3511
Stockholm University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, Personality, Social and Developmental Psychology.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8867-5752
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Number of Authors: 62023 (English)In: Royal Society Open Science, E-ISSN 2054-5703, Vol. 10, no 4, article id 221407Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Body odour disgust sensitivity (BODS) reflects a behavioural disposition to avoid pathogens, and it may also involve social attitudes. Among participants in the USA, high levels of BODS were associated with stronger xenophobia towards a fictitious refugee group. To test the generalizability of this finding, we analysed data from nine countries across five continents (N = 6836). Using structural equation modelling, we found support for our pre-registered hypotheses: higher BODS levels were associated with more xenophobic attitudes; this relationship was partially explained by perceived dissimilarities of the refugees' norms regarding hygiene and food preparation, and general attitudes toward immigration. Our results support a theoretical notion of how pathogen avoidance is associated with social attitudes: ‘traditional norms’ often involve behaviours that limit inter-group contact, social mobility and situations that might lead to pathogen exposure. Our results also indicate that the positive relationship between BODS and xenophobia is robust across cultures.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
The Royal Society Publishing , 2023. Vol. 10, no 4, article id 221407
Keywords [en]
olfaction, disgust, prejudice, xenophobia, body odour disgust sensitivity, disease avoidance
National Category
Other Natural Sciences Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-217356DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221407ISI: 000969420100007PubMedID: 37063982Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85158005309OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-217356DiVA, id: diva2:1760065
Note

This study was funded by Vetenskapsrådet (grant no. 2016-02018) and Knut and Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse (grant no. 2016:0229).

Available from: 2023-05-29 Created: 2023-05-29 Last updated: 2024-01-31Bibliographically approved

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Challma, SandraLindholm, TorunOlofsson, Jonas K.

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