Cultural Evolutionary Mismatches in Response to Collective Threat

Current Directions in Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/09637214211025032 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 096372142110250

Author(s):

Michele J. Gelfand

Keyword(s):

Social Norms ◽

Natural Disasters ◽

Cultural Evolutionary ◽

Populist Movements

Across the millennia, human groups have evolved specific cultural and psychological adaptations to cope with collective threats, from terrorism to natural disasters to pathogens. In particular, research has identified cultural tightness, characterized by strict social norms and punishments, as one key adaptation that helps groups coordinate to survive collective threats. However, interferences with threat signals that facilitate tightening can lead to cultural mismatches—either too much or not enough tightening. I discuss two examples of cultural mismatches: the COVID-19 pandemic (a case in which collective threat is real, but there is a resistance to tightening) and the rise of populist movements (a case in which exaggerated threat leads to unnecessary tightening).

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Belief in God: A Cultural Adaptation With Important Side Effects

Current Directions in Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/0963721417709811 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (5) ◽

pp. 458-463 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kristin Laurin

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Social Norms ◽

Risk Taking ◽

Cultural Adaptation ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Evolutionary Perspective ◽

Adaptive Function ◽

Belief In God ◽

Cultural Evolutionary ◽

Influence Behavior

This article integrates a recent spate of findings regarding beliefs in or thoughts about God and how they influence behavior. I first describe a fast-emerging cultural evolutionary perspective on why people believe in powerful, watchful, and morally invested Gods. I then apply this perspective to the recent spate of findings, arguing that those three culturally evolved features of Gods are responsible for certain additional effects beyond those thought to be their original adaptive function. These effects pertain to self-regulation, the reinforcement of social norms, risk taking, and more. I end by spelling out the theoretical leverage gained by applying a cultural fitness lens to these findings.

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Envy Reduction in Economics: Equity, Altruism and ‘Cultural Group Selection’

Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice ◽

10.1332/251569203x15668905422018 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 121-151

Author(s):

Gianrocco Tucci

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Norms ◽

Group Selection ◽

Structured Populations ◽

Cultural Group ◽

Evolutionary Processes ◽

Cultural Group Selection ◽

The Common ◽

Cultural Traits ◽

Cultural Evolutionary

Abstract This paper develops a set of arguments for envy reduction within economics. It tries to show that, if humans are psychologically biased towards accepting the group social norms, such as imitating the common behavior which may also happen to be the most successful in solving the puzzle of decision making, then cultural evolutionary processes will favour and stabilize cooperation. Then, the article discusses how, once cooperation is stable, ‘cultural group selection’ is likely to spread group-beneficial cultural traits - such as altruism considered here as the opposite of envy - through structured populations.

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Cooperation and obligation in early parent-child relationships

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19002474 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

Author(s):

Ross A. Thompson

Keyword(s):

Social Norms ◽

Moral Psychology ◽

Close Relationships ◽

Social Agency ◽

Infant Survival ◽

Peer Experiences ◽

Early Experiences ◽

Early Parent ◽

Collaborative Skills ◽

Parent Child Relationships

Abstract Tomasello's moral psychology of obligation would be developmentally deepened by greater attention to early experiences of cooperation and shared social agency between parents and infants, evolved to promote infant survival. They provide a foundation for developing understanding of the mutual obligations of close relationships that contribute (alongside peer experiences) to growing collaborative skills, fairness expectations, and fidelity to social norms.

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Tinkering with cognitive gadgets: Cultural evolutionary psychology meets active inference

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19001018 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Author(s):

Paul Benjamin Badcock ◽

Axel Constant ◽

Maxwell James Désormeau Ramstead

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Psychology ◽

Research Program ◽

Active Inference ◽

Innovative Research ◽

Cognitive Faculties ◽

Cultural Evolutionary ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Cognitive Gadgets offers a new, convincing perspective on the origins of our distinctive cognitive faculties, coupled with a clear, innovative research program. Although we broadly endorse Heyes’ ideas, we raise some concerns about her characterisation of evolutionary psychology and the relationship between biology and culture, before discussing the potential fruits of examining cognitive gadgets through the lens of active inference.

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The Structure Among Measures of Personality, Social Attitudes, Values, and Social Norms

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001.28.4.240 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 240-251 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Lazar Stankov

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Social Norms ◽

Social Interactions ◽

Correlation Matrix ◽

Social Attitudes ◽

Group Differences ◽

Factor Scores ◽

Ethnic Group Differences ◽

Inside Out

Abstract. This paper presents the results of a study that employed measures of personality, social attitudes, values, and social norms that have been the focus of recent research in individual differences. These measures were given to a sample of participants (N = 1,255) who were enrolled at 25 US colleges and universities. Factor analysis of the correlation matrix produced four factors. Three of these factors corresponded to the domains of Personality/Amoral Social Attitudes, Values, and Social Norms; one factor, Conservatism, cut across the domains. Cognitive ability showed negative correlation with conservatism and amoral social attitudes. The study also examined gender and ethnic group differences on factor scores. The overall interpretation of the findings is consistent with the inside-out view of human social interactions.

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Accentuating Your Masculine Side

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000144 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 103-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Chongzeng Bi ◽

Oscar Ybarra ◽

Yufang Zhao

Keyword(s):

Social Norms ◽

Gender Role ◽

Cultural Context ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Western Countries ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

Two Samples ◽

Agency And Communion

Recent research investigating self-judgment has shown that people are more likely to base their evaluations of self on agency-related traits than communion-related traits. In the present research, we tested the hypothesis that agency-related traits dominate self-evaluation by expanding the purview of the fundamental dimensions to consider characteristics typically studied in the gender-role literature, but that nevertheless should be related to agency and communion. Further, we carried out these tests on two samples from China, a cultural context that, relative to many Western countries, emphasizes the interpersonal or communion dimension. Despite the differences in traits used and cultural samples studied, the findings generally supported the agency dominates self-esteem perspective, albeit with some additional findings in Study 2. The findings are discussed with regard to the influence of social norms and the types of inferences people are able to draw about themselves given such norms.

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When Mother Earth Rises Up

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000112 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 271-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Simona Sacchi ◽

Paolo Riva ◽

Marco Brambilla

Keyword(s):

Free Will ◽

Natural Disasters ◽

Natural Disaster ◽

Mental States ◽

Disaster Victims ◽

Willingness To Help ◽

Mother Earth

Anthropomorphization is the tendency to ascribe humanlike features and mental states, such as free will and consciousness, to nonhuman beings or inanimate agents. Two studies investigated the consequences of the anthropomorphization of nature on people’s willingness to help victims of natural disasters. Study 1 (N = 96) showed that the humanization of nature correlated negatively with willingness to help natural disaster victims. Study 2 (N = 52) tested for causality, showing that the anthropomorphization of nature reduced participants’ intentions to help the victims. Overall, our findings suggest that humanizing nature undermines the tendency to support victims of natural disasters.

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