The objective prevalence of and subjective vulnerability to infectious diseases are associated with greater ingroup preference, conformity, and traditionalism However, evidence directly testing the link between infectious diseases and political ideology and partisanship is lacking Across four studies, including a large sample representative of the U S population (N &gt; 12,000), we demonstrate that higher environmental levels of human transmissible diseases and avoidance of germs from human carriers predict conservative ideological and partisan preferences During the COVID‐19 pandemic (N = 848), we replicated this germ aversion finding and determined that these conservative preferences were primarily driven by avoidance of germs from outgroups (foreigners) rather than ingroups (locals) Moreover, socially conservative individuals expressed lower concerns of being susceptible to contracting infectious diseases during the pandemic and worried less about COVID‐19 These effects were robust to individual‐level and state‐level controls We discuss these findings in light of theory on parasite stress and the behavioral immune system and with regard to the political implications of the COVID‐19 pandemic [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Political Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )
Exposure and Aversion to Human Transmissible Diseases Predict Conservative Ideological and Partisan Preferences