SBP: Evaluating the Causal Role of Inflammation in Social Prejudice

University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR

Investigators

Abstract

It can be difficult for people to interact with others who they perceive to be different than themselves. New theoretical models suggest that although people possess adaptive behavioral strategies to help them avoid contagion from potential sources of pathogens, these strategies can manifest in negative social processes such as prejudice. This research tests the hypothesis that one factor that can activate those disease avoidance strategies and lead people to be more biased is immune system activation. People’s immune systems are activated by recurring experiences like fighting off an illness or dealing with a stressor. This research experimentally induces acute inflammation to test if immune system activity leads to prejudicial responses. It is expected that people in the experimental group, for whom the immune system was activated, will produce more bias against others than people in the control group. More broadly, understanding the factors that can increase conflict between people from different backgrounds and perspectives is necessary to facilitate fair evaluations of others in society. This research adopts an inter-disciplinary approach combining social psychology with psychoneuroimmunology to examine whether people’s immune systems affect the way they view and react to others around them, especially others they perceive as different. This research examines the causal link between inflammation and prejudice by experimentally manipulating acute inflammation via the use of vaccines. Vaccines result in higher immune system activity on the next day. The research tests the hypothesis that inflammation results in more social biases against various groups (immigrants, elderly, people with obesity, people with a disability). The research also tests the hypothesis that people’s beliefs that they are protected from the threat of germs can mentally block the impulsive bias that may result from the immune system activation. This project will thus identify a biological process that can lead to prejudice and discrimination. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.