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The smell of prejudice: does disgust sensitivity predict explicit prejudice? Study 1 /
Body odor disgust sensitivity is associated with prejudice towards a fictive group of immigrants
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Description: Why are certain individuals persistent in opposing immigration? The behavioral immune system framework implies that a psychological mechanism, adapted to detect and avoid pathogen threats, is also reflected in contemporary social attitudes. Moreover, prejudice towards outgroups might be partially driven by implicit pathogen concerns related to dissimilarity of these groups’ hygiene and food preparation practices. Disgust, a core and universal emotion supposedly evolved to avoid pathogen threats and olfaction plays a pivotal role in evoking disgust. In an online study (N = 800), we investigated whether individual differences in body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS) correlate with negative attitudes towards a fictive refugee group. The data analysis plan and hypotheses were preregistered. Results show that body odor disgust sensitivity is associated with xenophobia: BODS was positively associated with opposition to immigration of the fictive group. This relationship was partially mediated by perceived dissimilarities of the group in terms of hygiene and food preparation. Our finding suggests prejudice might be rooted in primitive sensory mechanisms.