Talk:Parasite-stress theory

Suggestions on Parasite-mediated mate choice
Depth and clarity:


 * You have explained briefly what people can tell from good male secondary sexual characteristics but you have not provided any example of these characteristics.
 * You have mentioned that Moller et al's meta-analysis results (1999) support the Hamilton-Zek hypothesis but you did not state what common dependent variables have been measured in the studies. Adding information about how the authors operationalised secondary sexual characteristics and what extravagant mean in measurable terms will help the audience objectify the effect of parasite load on the secondary sexual characteristics.

Wiki markup:


 * Please consider linking pathogens, secondary sexual characteristics and immune function to internal wikipedia pages.
 * Please refrain from using Title Case but Sentence case for your section heading, as it is preferred according to PS364 seminar material.
 * You may add a captioned image of secondary sexual characteristics if appropriate.

PS364 Peer review Ljccrim (talk) 22:58, 6 March 2016 (UTC) :Thanks for your advice. We have now included examples for male secondary sexual characteristics which include pictures too. I feel the addition of the explanation of secondary sexual characteristics with the pictures allow for the readers to understand what is meant by extravagant and how they determined what kinds of characteristics would be determined as one of these secondary sexual characteristics. DishaK94 (talk) 21:54, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Suggestions on Biodiversity and the parasite-driven-wedge model
Depth and clarity:

Please consider explaining:


 * What does homogeneous view mean? Is it any culturally prescribed view?
 * What does phenotype mean?
 * New parasites emerge as a way to adapt to the 'old' parasite. What do the new parasites do then?
 * What are some examples of diseases?

Please review word choice for this sentence:


 * Finally leading to people having differences in their anti-pathogen values and these preferences will reflect their behaviours.

Please correct a typo:


 *  '... immunity against local parasitic diseases.' 

Please kindly recap how the increased protection or biodiversity more generally link to mate value and mate preference. The lead section (i.e. the introductory paragraph) leads the audience to believe such a question would be addressed clearly under this section heading.

Wiki markup:


 * A few specialist terms can be linked to internal wikipedia pages: phenotype and natural selection
 * Please refrain from using Title Case but Sentence case for your section heading, as it is preferred according to PS364 seminar material.

PS364 Peer review Ljccrim (talk) 22:59, 6 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Thank you for considering my advice. The typos and markup issues have already been acknowledged and copy-edited Ljccrim (talk) 23:04, 15 March 2016 (UTC)

Overall suggestions
One requirement of the assignment is balance of the content. Apart from Thornhil & Corey (2014a; 2014b), you may explore the literature further on the theoretical underpinnings which set the tenet of the parasite-stress theory. You are recommended to mention, at least briefly, some criticisms or alternatives of the parasite-stress theory. This will both make your article look more balanced and help expand the reference list. If there is not much research evidence in the literature that suggests alternative explanations, you may consider reflecting this in your article summary.

Thank you for considering my suggestions.

PS364 Peer review Ljccrim (talk) 23:14, 6 March 2016 (UTC)


 * I have added a short criticism section, but more is needed. This is a much debated topic and there is a lot of criticism and counter-criticism in recent literature. Agnerf (talk) 09:08, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

PS364 Peer review
First, it has been mentioned that there are "several hypotheses attempt to explain how parasite load influences female mate choice", however you only seem to have expanded on Hamilton-Zuk's hypothesis. Perhaps one could expand on some of the others and create different paragraphs for each one, if there is enough content. Second, one has mentioned about how parasite load can influence female mate choice - perhaps you could talk about how parasite load influences male mate choice? Are there differences or does it not influence male mate choice? If it doesn't differ do not specify gender here. Emily.marie94 (talk) 16:21, 10 March 2016 (UTC)

Hi everyone, So far, this is looking like a really good article. Complex ideas have been explained very clearly and are easy for anyone to follow. Your introduction is a good lead, but could begin to introduce some of the ideas you are going to go on to talk about. I can see it is still under construction so I am sure detail will be added, but perhaps you could outline some of the key mechanisms such as the Parasite-Driven-Wedge Model and Parasite mediated mate choice on a pretty basic level?

You could also try and link this page to other pages to help get more viewers to the page, for example are there any implications of Parasite-stress in Facial Asymmetry? This could also be illustrated with actual examples from the animal kingdom of qualities influenced by parasite stress? Another small thing, but some of the research you discuss (e.g. reference 2) is based on observations in certain species, (In this case the Passerine, I believe) so might be helpful to give more detail on this example to illustrate the concept.

You references seem to be of sound quality and reliability. Psych1316 (talk) 16:19, 13 March 2016 (UTC)

Peer Review
So far this looks like a great introduction to some complex theories. I would however urge caution with using complicated scientific language. Remember that not all wikipedia users are from a scientific background and you need to make your page as easy to understand as possible.This can easily be done by just explaining some of the more complex phenomena you mention in more detail, using more everyday language to improve the accessibility of the page's content. Your references are all reliable and there is a great variety of different sources. One suggestion I would make is that you could add a section on how history of disease can influence fluctuating asymmetry and attractiveness. A large volume of research supports the hypothesis that disease in childhood can affect attractiveness. Adding links to the Wikipedia pages on attractiveness, developmental stability and fluctuating asymmetry could benefit the flow of the page as well as placing it in the wider context of human sexuality. EBL 16:19, 14 March 2016 (UTC)

Caps per MOS:HEADINGS
My apologies: I had not immediately noticed that this was a course assignment, so I've meddled a bit with this article (added a few categories, and changed the capitalization as noted above, etc.). Just wanted to note that per WP:LOWERCASE, the title and the title's first incidence in the text should be in sentence case as well. "Parasite-stress theory" appears to be the common case in sentences outside of titles, but if it isn't, please inform me and I'll be on my way. If it's all right, I'd like to move this page to the proper case, unless you would like to do it yourselves. Regards, Me, Myself &#38; I (☮) (talk) 06:29, 15 March 2016 (UTC)

Peer Review on Parasite-mediated mate choice
A clear and understandable explanation of Hamilton-Zuk's hypothesis has been provided. References also seem to be reliable.

Examples on how secondary sexual characteristics are indicators of heritable resistance of pathology may also give a deeper understanding (especially examples relating to humans). As it is stated that there are "several hypotheses" attempting to explain the influence of parasite load on female mate choice, it may be better if the other hypotheses are also introduced. It may also be interesting to add hypotheses which explain the influence on male mate choice.

I understand that this page is still under construction. Thank you for considering the suggestions. (PS364 peer review)Psunas (talk) 21:07, 15 March 2016 (UTC)Psunas (talk)

Peer review on the introdution of Parasite-Stress Theory contributed by Danwbell
The introduction to the theory is accurate and there is no misunderstanding information. A longer paragraph with greater evidence, supporting evidence and opposing evidence would be better.

1) Add something that can be easily understood by general readers, e.g. "In a parasite-infested environment, human behave in a way to reduce their chances of infection." Here are some information that should be included in the introduction: The behavioral immune system is comprised of ancestrally adaptive feelings, attitudes and values about and behaviors towards out-group and in-group members, caution about or unwillingness to interact with out-group people, and prejudice against people perceived as unhealthy, contaminated, or unclean (Curtis 2007; Curtis et al. 2004; Faulkner et al. 2004; Fincher et al. 2008; Navarrete & Fessler 2006; Oaten et al. 2009; Park et al. 2003; 2007; Schaller & Duncan 2007; Thornhill et al. 2010).

2) Mention the theory that explains cultural differences over both time and space - it is not only sepcific to human but also concerns animals.

3) Give supporting evidence of this theory. For example, Hackman and Hruschka (2013) found that "pathogen prevalence correlates with collectivism, strength of family ties, homicide, child maltreatment, and religious commitment." However, this correlation has only been found with sexually transmitted disease.

4) Some suggested the Parasite-Stress Theory has been critised reversing the cause and effect, people with less contacted to with others and less medical knowledge are more prone to such diseases. Jackiechanyt (talk) 22:22, 15 March 2016 (UTC)

Peer Review
Really interesting article. It reads really well, in the style of a wiki article!

My suggestions for improvement would be:

· The layout could be improved. There are two subsections in a row on mate choice - perhaps these can be combined? I also think these could be padded out a bit more - for example when talking about barn swallows, you could add research on other types of bird, or other species of animal (Martín, J., & López, P. (2000). Chemoreception, symmetry and mate choice in lizards. The Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences, 267(1450). found that the symmetry of the chemical signals sent out by lizards affects their likelihood of finding a mate). It would also be good to include more than two sources in the second mate choice section, expanding on this sentence "Several hypotheses have attempted to explain how parasite load influences female mate choice".

· Images could be added to make the page more accessible to the layperson, for example comparing symmetrical and unsymmetrical faces/bodies.

Psundd (talk) 12:30, 22 March 2016 (UTC)

Title should be Pathogen stress theory
The term Parasite stress theory is used in thousands of publications, yet it is biologically misleading. The theory includes virus infections (e.g. Thornhill, Fincher, and Corey, 2014), however a virus does not fit the definition of a parasite because it is not an organism. A virus may be classified as a microparasite, yet this term is not used in the relevant literature. An increasing number of publications are now using the more correct term Pathogen stress theory. I cannot find a publication that explicitly criticizes the terminology, except my own, but Murray redefines parasite to include virus infections. I think the name of the article should be changed, with a redirection from parasite-stress theory. Agnerf (talk) 10:08, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

Confusing mix of humans and other species
Fincher and Thornhill, and most other authors on the topic, relate this theory explicitly to human culture without mentioning other species. The text that refers to other species (that may not have culture) is confusing and belongs elsewhere in my opinion. I will suggest that the main text should refer to human culture only. A short section may explain related phenomena in other species with references to appropriate wiki articles. Agnerf (talk) 06:21, 25 October 2023 (UTC)