Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention01:26

Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention

Health promotion allows a person to control the determinants of health, resulting in an improved health status. It enhances the quality of life and reduces premature deaths. Health promotion and illness prevention programs help people make beneficial choices to reduce the risk of disease and disabilities. There are three health promotion and illness prevention levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II01:18

Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II

The person's health status fluctuates continually, varying from being in good health to becoming ill and returning to being healthy. To understand the concept of illness prevention, there are two models. First, the health-illness continuum model is a graphic representation of an individual's wellness. It states that a person is considered healthy in the absence of physical disease and the presence of good emotional health.
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...
Preventive Healthcare Services01:30

Preventive Healthcare Services

Preventive healthcare services keep people healthy via frequent check-ups, screening, and counseling. They primarily aid in disease prevention rather than treating an acute or chronic illness. Preventive treatment also keeps individuals productive and energetic, allowing them to work well into their retirement years. Examples of preventive care services include:
Stereotype Content Model02:16

Stereotype Content Model

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence categorization, a person will feel...
Classification of Illness01:17

Classification of Illness

The meaning of illness is individualized to each person who experiences an alteration in health. In contrast, disease is a medical term indicating a pathological change in the structure and function of the body or mind. It is a condition that has specific symptoms and boundaries.
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe and...
Colonisation of Pathogens01:25

Colonisation of Pathogens

Pathogen colonization of host tissues is a critical step in the development of infectious diseases. Various pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa, have evolved complex strategies to attach to, invade, and persist within host environments. These mechanisms enable pathogens to establish infections, evade immune responses, and resist antimicrobial treatments.Attachment to Host CellsIn bacteria, colonization typically begins with adherence to host epithelial...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Is High Fat and Sugar Intake Associated with Disrupted Attentional-Motivational Coupling for Food? Evidence from an Eye Tracking Study.

Brain sciences·2026
Same author

Testing a learning-based account of interoceptive hunger using an illusory induction.

Appetite·2026
Same author

Psychological induction of interoceptive states.

Consciousness and cognition·2026
Same author

Betrayal and punishment within intimate relationships.

Current opinion in psychology·2026
Same author

Sound source ambiguity augments illusory mislocalisation of computer presented stomach rumbles to self.

Psychological research·2025
Same author

Evaluating psychological accounts of diet-related mood improvements using novel control conditions.

Appetite·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2026

Social Threat-Safety Test Uncovers Psychosocial Stress-Related Phenotypes
05:03

Social Threat-Safety Test Uncovers Psychosocial Stress-Related Phenotypes

Published on: December 15, 2023

Disease avoidance as a functional basis for stigmatization.

Megan Oaten1, Richard J Stevenson, Trevor I Case

  • 1Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|November 2, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Stigmatization often stems from an evolved disease-avoidance system, triggered by disease cues or labels. This system explains why stigmatized individuals evoke disgust and are perceived as contaminating, impacting social interactions.

More Related Videos

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm
09:00

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm

Published on: October 3, 2020

An Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Protocol for Instigating Depressive Symptoms, Behavioral Changes and Negative Health Outcomes in Rodents
06:55

An Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Protocol for Instigating Depressive Symptoms, Behavioral Changes and Negative Health Outcomes in Rodents

Published on: December 2, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 28, 2026

Social Threat-Safety Test Uncovers Psychosocial Stress-Related Phenotypes
05:03

Social Threat-Safety Test Uncovers Psychosocial Stress-Related Phenotypes

Published on: December 15, 2023

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm
09:00

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm

Published on: October 3, 2020

An Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Protocol for Instigating Depressive Symptoms, Behavioral Changes and Negative Health Outcomes in Rodents
06:55

An Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Protocol for Instigating Depressive Symptoms, Behavioral Changes and Negative Health Outcomes in Rodents

Published on: December 2, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Stigmatization involves social and physical avoidance, similar to disease-induced isolation.
  • Disease avoidance is a crucial survival mechanism, but can be misapplied.
  • Visible cues and labels associated with disease can trigger avoidance responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose and examine a model where stigmatization is rooted in the disease-avoidance system.
  • To investigate the emotional and cognitive components of this system.
  • To explore the evolutionary basis and broader implications of disease-avoidance-driven stigma.

Main Methods:

  • Presentation of a theoretical model of the disease-avoidance system.
  • Examination of the model's predictions regarding disgust and contamination.
  • Analysis of cross-cultural and animal behavior evidence supporting an evolutionary account.

Main Results:

  • The model suggests stigmatized individuals evoke disgust and are perceived as contaminating.
  • Evidence from animal behavior and cultural practices supports an evolutionary basis for disease-avoidance.
  • The model can explain stigma directed at groups with no direct disease connection.

Conclusions:

  • Stigmatization can be understood as an overgeneralized disease-avoidance response.
  • This evolutionary perspective has implications for both promoting hygiene and understanding harmful social biases.
  • The model highlights how labels and cues associated with disease can be manipulated for social ends.