An Old Broom: Behavioral Immune Activity and Preference for the Known and Familiar

One regularity in our environment is that familiar objects tend to be associated with a lower risk of contamination. Building on this pattern, we propose that the degree to which one’s behavioral immune system is chronically activated is positively associated with stronger attribution of positive valence to the known and the familiar. In Studies 1 (N = 355) and 2 (N = 271) participants who were disgust-sensitive or who perceived themselves as vulnerable to disease showed stronger preference for familiar Chinese ideographs, based on the mere exposure effect. In Study 3 (N = 261) disgust-sensitive participants exhibited a stronger inherence effect. Study 4 (N = 284) suggests that the latter finding reflects pathogen (above and beyond sexual or moral) disgust. The predicted associations were mostly unaffected by the inclusion of control variables (political orientation, gender, religiosity, illness recency, COVID threat, and personal values). We discuss implications for the association between behavioral immune activity and conservatism, as well as for cognitive changes under pandemic conditions.