Flu season can be a challenging time, especially when you are sharing close quarters with someone who may be sick. But how do you know if someone is sick, even when they may not be aware of it themselves? A recent global study led by a University of Michigan researcher has shed light on how people around the world rely on their senses to detect illness.
The study, which involved over 19,000 participants from 58 countries, found that people universally agree that sight and hearing are the most useful senses for detecting sickness, followed by touch, smell, and taste. Lead author Josh Ackerman, a psychology professor at U-M, explained that these sensory preferences may be linked to minimizing the risk of getting sick.
According to Ackerman, understanding how people perceive and react to the threat of pathogens is crucial, as it can influence their behaviors and actions in situations where disease transmission is possible. Beliefs about how illnesses present themselves can also impact how individuals judge others and make decisions about potential risks.
Previous research by Ackerman has shown that most Americans trust their sight and hearing when detecting sick individuals, ranking them above touch, smell, and taste. This aligns with the “safe senses hypothesis,” which suggests that people prefer using senses that allow them to assess others from a safe distance, especially when it comes to infectious diseases.
The new study, published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, explored whether these sensory beliefs are consistent across cultures. Surprisingly, the findings revealed a remarkable uniformity in how people from different countries perceive the sensory detection of infectious diseases. While some variations were observed in the rankings of hearing and touch, the overall consistency was striking.
Ackerman noted that the shared beliefs about sensing disease may be due to the similar ways in which hazards present themselves across human groups. However, he emphasized that relying solely on our senses to identify potential threats may not always be accurate. For instance, people are not adept at detecting sick individuals based on the sound of their sneezes and coughs.
In conclusion, the study highlights the importance of understanding how people rely on their senses to detect illness and the implications of these beliefs on their behaviors. By recognizing the universal preferences for sight and hearing in detecting sickness, we can better navigate flu season and other situations where disease transmission is a concern.
For more information, you can refer to the study published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity by Joshua M. Ackerman et al. from the University of Michigan.
