Josh Ackerman

A new piece in @psypost.bsky.social on our recent study published in Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. Check it out!

Why does this matter?
In addition to testing ideas about psychological universality, these shared beliefs could shape interpersonal reactions like avoidance and stigma as well as affect trust and compliance with public health messaging.

See the full paper here: authors.elsevier.com/a/1l7WX3AAzz...

Cross-cultural consistency was extremely high in this ordering of senses (around 95%). When differences did appear, they were associated with a geospatial flourishing index (a combination of population density, pathogen prevalence, human development, and latitude).

When imagining a flu outbreak, the same pattern emerged globally:
Sight > Hearing > Touch > Smell > Taste

People also reported using “safer” senses—those requiring less physical proximity—more than expected, even when they believed other senses might be more effective.

Do you think you can tell if someone is sick with a contagious disease? What sensory information do people think is useful for detecting sickness in others — and is this universal across cultures?

Our team of 115 researchers surveyed over 19,000 people in 58 countries. Here's what we found 👇

This project was one of the first that Wilson proposed in grad school, and I think is a testament to his insight and perseverance (not to mention being a fine piece of work!).

Hi Max, I’ll ask Kaelyn who led the work to get in touch with you.

I'll be giving talks on infection psychology at the Evo preconference and in a main conference symposium with @pdurkee.bsky.social, @bengelbart.bsky.social, and Oliver Sng on "Universality and variation in social judgments across societies." Come by and check it all out!

Lots of lab member content at #SPSP2025! Posters from @kaelynsabree.bsky.social on "Ecology-driven Stereotypes," Savannah Adams on "Moral Judgments of Concealers of Infectious Illness," and Nicole Li on "Cultural Variations in Emotion Regulation through the Body: the Role of Cognitive Styles"...

Join EHAP tomorrow for our inaugural 2025 speaker - Manvir Singh. Looking forward to kicking off the series this year with a fantastic guest.

Starter pack for evolutionary behavioral science! I know I am missing many ppl working in this area. Please add yourself and your colleagues!
go.bsky.app/Rt4Kh26

The chaos from Washington in the last week has made travel planning impossible for many scientists, so the International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health meeting is allowing submission of talk abstracts until Feb 28. 🧪 #EvMed @evmed.bsky.social @evmed.bsky.social evmed.org

UM_EHAP (@umehap.bsky.social) Evolution and Human Adaptation Program at The University of Michigan | sites.lsa.umich.edu/ehap/

We’re transitioning the University of Michigan EHAP account to Bluesky! Follow if you’re interested in evolution and behavior, and stay tuned for an announcement about our Winter speaker series. umehap.bsky.social

Feeling a bit ingroupy these days? A little open to extreme punishments for certain crimes? A little down on sibling incest? Maybe living near family (or seeing them at the holidays) is shaping your psychology. New paper on the ecology of relatedness: psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...