Paul Rozin - US grants

DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) In general, adult human beings show an aversion to contact or commerce with an entity which has been in contact with an undesirable or unknown person. This phenomenon is called negative interpersonal contagion. These negative feelings motivate avoidance of entities that have previously contacted diseased persons or morally compromised persons. We have published evidence indicating that negative interpersonal contagion accounts for part of the general tendency to avoid indirect contact with people with AIDS. A muting of negative interpersonal contagion seems to be operative when drug abusers share needles. This study involves the explication of the nature of the negativity that is "transmitted" by contact. Through questionnaires, interviews and controlled manipulations in a laboratory setting, we will distinguish and evaluate three models that account for interpersonal contagion: 1. passage of a material essence, 2. passage of a spiritual essence, and 3. pure association. We believe that most people operate with more than one model, the salient model in any situation being determined by the nature of the source of negativity (e.g., a person with an illness versus a person with a moral taint) and by individual differences. The study will also examine why interpersonal contagion varies depending on the individual and situation. Accounts explored will include the model of contagion that is operative, general sensitivity to contagion and disgust, and the way people frame their experiences (the extent to which they think about or attend to moral/health risk issues in daily experience). Attempts to increase contagion sensitivity (e.g., in needle sharing by drug abusers) or to decrease it (e.g., in over-response to casual contact with AIDS) should be informed by a better understanding of the psychological representation of the nature of the contagious entity.

Genetic engineering is commonly used in agriculture, but is also opposed by many. The aim of this program of research is to understand the prevalence and causes of opposition, especially moral opposition, to genetically modified (GM) food. This research program provides immediate insight into why individuals are opposed to GM food. It also illuminates how to begin a productive discussion about the role of genetic engineering in the modern world, as well as the consequences of moral beliefs for science communication more broadly.

A wealth of research has been devoted to understanding the causes of opposition to GM food. Generally, this research has focused on rational or quasi-rational factors, such as beliefs about GM food's risks and benefits, trust in GM food-related institutions, and scientific literacy. This approach (which implicitly assumes that consumers usually reason about costs and benefits to arrive at their attitudes) remains the dominant paradigm in the study of attitudes towards GM food. The present work expands the scope of explanations of opposition to GM by applying established theories about sacred values and the law of contagion. The researchers examine whether some opposition to GM food is a manifestation of moral, sacred values, i.e., moral opposition, and whether this opposition is related to perceptions that the process of genetic modification is disgusting and contaminating. In a survey study with a representative sample, the research assess the prevalence and correlates of moral and non-moral opposition to GM food. In follow up experiments, the research manipulates factors related to sacred values and contagion and examines the impact on moral and non-moral opponents attitudes. This framework explains otherwise surprising phenomena observed in GM opposition research, e.g., insensitivity to evidence about risks and benefits of GM and generates novel predictions about factors affecting GM attitudes, e.g., the impact of disgust and arguments grounded on moral principles.