Evolved Mechanisms of Avoidance of Disease and the Implicit Cognition of Apparent Disability

The sight or proximity of a person with an apparent disability generates a series of implicit cognitions that seem to evoke purely negative dimensions, like disease and unpleasantness. This phenomenon would appear to occur because of the presence of an evolved mechanism of avoidance of disease that is (erroneously) activated by unusual physical or behavioral features. A total of 157 university students responded to two Implicit Association Tests and to two explicit self-report questionnaires: the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease and the Sensitivity to Disgust Revised scales. Results showed a strong implicit association between disability and the dimensions of disease and unpleasantness regardless of setting manipulation, suggesting that the implicit association is so strong that it subliminally emerges regardless of whether respondents’ disgust sensitivity is emotionally increased. No correlations were found between implicit and explicit measures, suggesting that implicit and explicit cognitions result in different cognitive mechanisms that do not always and necessarily correspond.