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People need social contact to build relationships. At the same time, close contact carries a risk of spreading infectious diseases. In a study appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from institutions including the Karolinska Institutet sought to understand how people balance these factors against one another.

The researchers collected data from 42,756 people in 61 communities worldwide, ranging from Sweden and other European countries to countries in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Oceania. Participants were asked to imagine one of four types of people: their closest friend, an acquaintance, a stranger or someone they strongly dislike.

They then answered questions about how comfortable they would be in situations that might involve the transmission of microorganisms, such as drinking from the same water bottle or sitting so close that their legs touched. They were also asked to state whether they would touch the person when greeting them.

The results showed a clear pattern across all the societies included in the study: The greater the value people attributed to a relationship, the more positive they were toward contact involving a potential risk of infection. The correlation was similar regardless of country or cultural context.

"The study shows that people around the world appear to make similar trade-offs between social benefits and the risk of infection. How important another person is to us plays a central role in these decisions.

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