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Interpersonal value regulates infection-risky social contact across 61 societies
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Interpersonal value regulates infection-risky social contact across 61 societies

Hongyu Sun, Giuliana Spadaro, Sofia Pelica, Roza G. Kamiloğlu, Loes Abrahams, Joshua M. Ackerman, Savannah Adams, Laith Al-Shawaf, Alexandra Alvergne, Benjamin Amponsah, …
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.123(42), e2615739123
2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2615739123
PMID: 42879482
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Published6.00 MBDownloadView
Open Access CC BY V4.0

Abstract

Social Sciences
Balancing the benefits of social contact against infection risks is a fundamental challenge faced throughout human evolution. Prior work proposes that this trade-off is embedded in mental processes that track the interpersonal value of social partners. If this account is correct, the link between interpersonal value and infection-risky contact should be universal. We find that it is: Across 61 societies, people were consistently more willing to engage in infection-risky contact with high-value social partners. Diverse societal-level factors also related to infection-risky contact, but specifically for high-value targets rather than low-value ones. Findings support the universality of a social psychology of pathogen avoidance that considers the interpersonal value of targets while also being calibrated by societal factors. Interpersonal contact is essential for cooperation and care, but it also provides a route for pathogen transmission between individuals. Hence, a key challenge for social organisms involves maintaining beneficial social contact while also limiting exposure to infection risks. Existing proposals suggest that this trade-off is guided by the interpersonal value of specific social targets. In addition, ecological and cultural factors, including historical pathogen prevalence, individualism-collectivism, tightness–looseness, and relational mobility, might also shape how people avoid pathogens. To test whether and how infection-risky social contact varies with individual-level interpersonal value and these societal-level factors, we collected data from 47,756 participants across 61 societies. Participants were randomly assigned to picture a social target - either a friend, acquaintance, stranger, or enemy. They then rated their comfort with infection-risky contact with that target (e.g., drinking from the same water bottle) and whether they would touch the target when greeting them. In all societies, participants were more comfortable with infection-risky contact and more likely to engage in physical contact during greetings with targets of higher interpersonal value. Such associations varied only modestly across societies. Notably, the associations between infection-risky contact and societal-level factors depended on target interpersonal value and were concentrated among high-value targets—contact was lower where historical pathogen prevalence and tightness were greater and higher where individualism and relational mobility were greater. These findings suggest that infection-risky contact is primarily guided by the value of social targets, with ecological and cultural factors playing a lesser role.

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