Sex Differences in Pathogen Disgust Sensitivity: Testing the Coalitional Hunting and Warfare Hypothesis

Previous literature reports robust sex differences in disgust sensitivity. A few hypotheses aimed at explaining the mechanisms behind these discrepancies were proposed, but empirical studies testing them remain scarce. Here, we focused on the coalitional hunting and warfare hypothesis. It suggests that contemporary sex differences in disgust sensitivity arise from different sex roles of males and females in human ancestral past. With males being more frequently engaged in pathogen-loaded circumstances of coalitional hunting and war-faring, it would be adaptive for them to decrease their sensitivity to disgust in the context of such activities. In order to activate their hunting and warfare schemas, 627 participants (50.2% female) recruited via snowball sampling method were exposed to videos depicting (a) coalitional close-distance combat, (b) coalitional hunt, or (c) people in a cooperative yet nonhostile context. The results did not support the coalitional hunting and warfare hypothesis, with video clips having no impact on declared disgust sensitivity levels. Sex differences in all disgust aspects were found, along with positive relationship of emotional arousal and experienced stress with disgust sensitivity. Conversely, frequent exposition to violent movies or brutal video games was linked with lower sensitivity to disgust, thus showing a pattern in line with the tested hypothesis' predictions. Alternative approaches to coalitional hunting and warfare hypothesis are discussed.