Behavioral Immune System: Its Psychological Bases and Functions

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K03024
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 10010:Social psychology-related
• Research Institution: Osaka Metropolitan University (2022); Osaka Prefecture University (2021); Shujitsu University (2018-2020)
• Principal Investigator: Kazunori Iwasa 大阪公立大学, 大学院現代システム科学研究科, 准教授 (00610031)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 嫌悪 / 行動免疫 / 質感

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study conducted a series of experiments to investigate the psychophysical basis of visual moisture perception and its relationship with disgust reactions from the perspective of the behavioral immune system theory. The basic procedure of the experiment involved visually presenting images of organic materials with varying levels of moisture and soliciting evaluations of the strength of moisture perception and disgust reactions. The results of the experiment showed that there was a linear relationship between the evaluation of visual moisture perception and the moisture content of the stimulus, indicating that humans are able to relatively accurately evaluate the moisture content of an object through visual perception. Furthermore, such visual estimates were predictable based on image statistics such as the number of high luminance regions and spatial frequency components in the image.

Free Research Field

実験心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

この研究では，視覚的な湿り気知覚という日常的な知覚経験を分析し，その心理物理学的基盤を明らかにした点で，基礎研究としての価値を有している。また，嫌悪反応を検討に加えたことにより，感情心理学的な文脈からも新奇な知見を得ることができた。水分を含む有機物ではしばしば雑菌が繁殖するため，腐敗等の状態によっては，接触を通じた感染症リスクが存在する。本研究の知見は，視覚による湿り気知覚のメカニズムの一端を示したものであり，いかにしてヒトが接触せずに感染リスクを回避しているかを理解するてがかりとなった。