The Relation Between Pathogen Avoidance Motivation and Prejudice Toward the Poor

To solve the problem of prejudice toward low-status individuals and help this group of people integrate in a wider society, one needs to understand the basis of this prejudice. The current study aimed at shedding some light on this problem by studying whether pathogen avoidance motivation is connected with prejudice toward the poor. Participants were Russian-speaking individuals who lived most of their life in Russia. Regression and moderation analysis were used to test two hypotheses and it was found that stronger pathogen avoidance motivation leads to greater antipathy toward the poor. Apart from that, results show that higher income leads to greater antipathy toward the poor as well. However, higher income does not strengthen the relationship between pathogen avoidance motivation and prejudice toward the poor. These results show the need to change the perception of low-status individuals by others in order to help them integrate into society.