Discriminating between sick and healthy faces based on early sickness cues: an exploratory analysis of sex differences.

ABSTRACT:

Background and objectives

It has been argued that sex and disease-related traits should influence how observers respond to sensory sickness cues. In fact, there is evidence that humans can detect sensory cues related to infection in others, but lack of power from earlier studies prevents any firm conclusion regarding whether perception of sickness cues is associated with sex and disease-related personality traits. Here, we tested whether women (relative to men), individuals with poorer self-reported health, and who are more sensitive to disgust, vulnerable to disease, and concerned about their health, overestimate the presence of, and/or are better at detecting sickness cues.

Methodology

In a large online study, 343 women and 340 men were instructed to identify the sick face

SUBMITTER: Tognetti A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10629974 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature