They then divided them into teams and subjected them to several tests designed to uncover responses to pattern and social deviance. 'The relationship between pattern deviancy and social deviancy aversion emerged across explicit and implicit measures, across cultures (United States and China), and was of a moderately large magnitude,' they concluded in the journal Nature Human Behaviour in their paper, entitled 'Relating pattern deviancy aversion to stigma and prejudice'. 'Although non-social pattern deviancy and social deviancy judgements may seem distinct given their differing domains, people’s aversion towards non-social pattern deviancy and social deviancy consistently overlapped. 'These findings raise the possibility that pattern deviancy aversion plays an important role in stigmatization and prejudice.' 'The research presented here, however, raises the possibility that a simple dislike of pattern deviancy plays a role in such prejudice.'

Source: Daily Mail November 28, 2017 00:33 UTC