Signaling sickness: the role of recalled sickness behavior and psychosocial factors in shaping communication style

摘要

Active infection results in several outward signs in humans, including visible symptoms, changes in behavior and possible alterations in skin color and gait. A potential adaptive function of these indicators is to signal distress and elicit care from close others. We hypothesized that sickness behavior, a suite of stereotypical changes in mood and behavior, also serves to communicate health status to others. We further hypothesized that such outward signals/cues of health status would vary based on context and sociocultural norms.