Testing the Motivational Tradeoffs in Pathogen Avoidance and Status Acquisition

In the service of reducing disease transmission through interpersonal contact, humans have evolved a behavioral immune system that facilitates identification and avoidance of environmental pathogens. One behavioral strategy in response to pathogenic threat is the adoption of interpersonal reticence. However, reticence may impede status acquisition, a process that necessarily fosters distinctiveness from the rest of the group that affords increased access to resources. The current program of research tested whether activation of pathogen-avoidant motives through priming fosters reticence related to status, namely disinterest in pursuing a group leadership position (Study 1) or disinterest in accepting a group leadership position when led to believe one has been selected by others (Study 2). Results indicated that those high in germ aversion were particularly interested in pursuing leadership as a form of status, with disease salience unexpectedly heightening status motives among those low in germ aversion. Furthermore, those high in perceived infectability reported reluctance in accepting high-status positions, although disease salience heightened interest in accepting a leadership role. We contextualize these findings by identifying the dispositional and situational factors that foster individuals to invoke a motivational tradeoff between status and pathogen-avoidant motives.