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Related Experiment Videos

Sociability and susceptibility to the common cold.

Sheldon Cohen1, William J Doyle, Ronald Turner

  • 1Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. scohen@cmu.edu

Psychological Science
|August 22, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Highly sociable individuals show increased resistance to infectious diseases like the common cold. This personality trait appears to protect health independently of social connections or lifestyle factors.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Immunology
  • Social Epidemiology

Background:

  • Social relationships significantly impact health outcomes.
  • Limited research exists on how personality traits, like sociability, influence health and disease resistance.
  • Sociability is hypothesized to shape social interactions, potentially affecting health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if sociability predicts resistance to infectious disease.
  • To determine if the relationship between sociability and disease resistance is mediated by social interactions (quantity and quality).
  • To examine if sociability independently predicts disease susceptibility.

Main Methods:

  • 334 volunteers completed questionnaires on sociability, social networks, and social support.

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  • Daily social interactions were assessed via six evening interviews.
  • Participants were exposed to a common cold virus and monitored for illness development.

    • Main Results:

    • A linear association was observed: increased sociability correlated with a decreased probability of developing a cold.
    • Sociability predicted reduced disease susceptibility independently of social interaction quantity and quality.
    • This association remained significant after controlling for baseline immunity, demographics, emotional style, stress hormones, and health practices.

    Conclusions:

    • Sociability is a significant predictor of resistance to infectious diseases.
    • The protective effect of sociability on disease susceptibility is independent of social factors and other health-related variables.
    • Personality traits like sociability play a direct role in modulating individual health resilience.