The function of myths about great leaders in human culture: A cultural evolutionary perspective

Leadership ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 757-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micha Popper ◽  
Omri Castelnovo
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Human Culture ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Cultural Functions

The discussion takes an evolutionary–cultural perspective in which (a) humans are inherently attracted to large figures (i.e., leaders, heroes), perceived as competent and benevolent entities; (b) the large figure’s influence rests largely on evolutionary phylogenetic biases; (c) the large figure’s effects are expressed through a mechanism designed to transmit cultural knowledge vertically. The suggested view sheds a different light on the psychological and cultural functions of myths about great leaders, and allows us to examine issues such as charisma and culture, the place of the leader in creating collective identity and transmission of cultural norms and practices. Research directions derived from the suggested approach are discussed.

scholarly journals Innovation from a Memetic and Evolutionary Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Andrej Drapal
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Human Culture ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Fundamental Mechanism

Innovation happens all around the Universe and is a fundamental mechanism of evolution. Living creatures cannot but exist and develop through innovation. Innovation happens through mutations that make sense in retrospect only. Natural selection makes certain mutations as beneficial and other as something that was already forgotten. As much as genes serve as quantized smaller units where innovation takes place in physical bodies, memes serve as basic quantized units of human culture. Memes as second replicators to genes obey similar laws of evolution and thus innovation as genes. Innovation can be propagated only by removing obstacles on one side and by allowing mutations to emerge as long as they do not destroy identity.

Cross-cultural indigenous training: The South African experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-621
Author(s):  
Zana Marovic
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
South African ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
The South ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Western Psychology ◽  
Indigenous Paradigm

In this paper, the author explores the relevance of indigenous training from a cross-cultural perspective. We start by examining the broader context of traditional Western psychology and its relevance in a multicultural society. A brief description of the indigenous paradigm is followed by a discussion of differences between Western and indigenous psychology, and a proposal of cultural eclecticism as a potential frame for their integration. Next, we discuss the South African context in relation to comparative-cultural aspects of medical and psychological services.  The author’s clinical experience informs her increased awareness of culturally inadequate service at the state hospital, developing curiosity about African indigenous healing, and subsequent encounters and collaboration with African traditional healers. Ultimately, the author develops culturally sensitive training that explores cultural biases and generates cross-cultural knowledge and competence.  In conclusion, the author advocates that in the area of globalisation and multicultural societies, psychological training and clinical practice, should include dialogue and facilitate collaboration between Western and indigenous knowledge, hopefully leading to a more holistic and culturally inclusive service to a population of different backgrounds. Such collaboration and integration of Western and indigenous knowledge may be a source of professional stimulation as well as a benefit to health-care consumers.

Greater Male Variability in Cooperation: Meta-Analytic Evidence for an Evolutionary Perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 095679762095663
Author(s):  
Christian Thöni ◽  
Stefan Volk ◽  
Jose M. Cortina
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Social Dilemma ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Meta Analyses

Do men and women differ systematically in their cooperation behaviors? Researchers have long grappled with this question, and studies have returned equivocal results. We developed an evolutionary perspective according to which men are characterized by greater intrasex variability in cooperation as a result of sex-differentiated psychological adaptations. We tested our hypothesis in two meta-analyses. The first involved the raw data of 40 samples from 23 social-dilemma studies with 8,123 participants. Findings provided strong support for our perspective. Whereas we found that the two sexes do not differ in average cooperation levels, men are much more likely to behave either selfishly or altruistically, whereas women are more likely to be moderately cooperative. We confirmed our findings in a second meta-analytic study of 28 samples from 23 studies of organizational citizenship behavior with 13,985 participants. Our results highlight the importance of taking intrasex variability into consideration when studying sex differences in cooperation and suggest important future research directions.

scholarly journals USA and Portuguese Young Adolescents’ Perceived Qualities and Satisfaction in Their Relationships with Mothers, Fathers and Best-Friends

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Maryse Guedes ◽  
Olívia Ribeiro ◽  
Miguel Freitas ◽  
Kenneth H. Rubin ◽  
António J. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Perceived Support ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Young Adolescents ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Best Friends ◽  
Relationship Qualities ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Portuguese Adolescents

Background: Few researchers have examined young adolescents’ perceived qualities and satisfaction in their relationships with their mothers, fathers and best friends simultaneously, using a cross-cultural perspective. This study aimed to compare the perceived qualities and satisfaction of USA and Portuguese adolescents in their relationships with their parents and best friends and to examine the influence of perceived relationship qualities on the satisfaction of young adolescents with their close relationships. Methods: The sample consisted of 347 USA adolescents (170 boys, 177 girls) and 360 Portuguese adolescents (176 boys, 184 girls) who completed the Network of Relationships Inventory Social Provision Version to assess perceived support, negativity, power balance and satisfaction in their relationships with their mothers, fathers and same-sex best friends. Results: Adolescents from both countries perceived their relationships with parents to be more negative and imbalanced in power than their relationships with friends, but the magnitude of differences was greater in the USA. Furthermore, USA adolescents reported higher satisfaction in their relationships with friends than in their relationships with parents. Country differences in the concomitants of relationship satisfaction were found. Conclusions: These findings support the notion that young adolescents’ perceived qualities and satisfaction in close relationships may differ depending on cultural norms.

scholarly journals TRADISI MASYARAKAT SELO DAN PARIWISATA DI TAMAN NASIONAL GUNUNG MERBABU, BOYOLALI JAWA TENGAH

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Indah Riadi Putri ◽  
Lies Rahayu Wijayanti Faida ◽  
Chafid Fandeli ◽  
Ris Hadi Purwanto
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Work Of Art ◽  
Human Culture ◽  
Community Activities ◽  
Central Java ◽  
The People ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Special Value

Culture can form civilization or tradition in meeting the needs and well being of the people involved in the environment. One of form the human culture is a work of art. Artwork reveals the attitudes, processes, Symbolics meaning in the form of movement, carvings, paintings, material realized from social and cultural knowledge. Cultural attractions have a high appeal because it has a special value in the form of art performances, traditional ceremonies, the noble values that are contained in an object of man's work in the past. People have a variety of cultural art that consists of various traditions ceremonies, art performances, habits of indigenous people in life. It can be a potential cultural attraction for tourists who visit the National Park area of Mount Merbabu in District Selo, Boyolali regency. The purpose of this research is to know the traditions of performance, art, and culture the people of Selo, Merbabu Mountain National Park, Boyolali Central Java. Culture can shape civilization or tradition in the needs and welfare of life for the people involved in its environment. One form of human culture is the work of art, which reveals attitudes, processes, symbols of meaning in the form of movements, carvings, paintings, material embodied from social and cultural knowledge. Social and cultural knowledge embodies special things such as artistic attractions, traditional rituals passed down until to the present day. The meaning of this honor is an expression of gratitude to the spirit of the ancestors who have helped keep the balance of the region and the agriculture of the Selo community to be safe, safe and abundant. This research uses qualitative and quantitative analysis method by measuring distribution/frequency of performance and implementation of tradition/culture of Selo society. The Selo community has various artistic and traditional cultures, including art performances, ancestral honors (sadranan on the 1st night of Suro), clean villages, and thanksgiving for the harvest. The results of the study found that: 1) the tradition of traditional ceremonies in the form of homage to ancestral spirits (ancestors) of 7.1 percent, 2) performances sendratari of 54.52 percent, 3) the use of public buildings with local architecture of Java that serves as a gallery art as much as 59.03 percent, and 4) Community activities work together 75.48 percent. The data also indicates that the traditions and culture of the Selo community, not only as a potential support for tourism but become an integral part of the development of nature tourism in the area of Gunung Merbabu National Park Boyolali, Central Java.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. xiv-2
Author(s):  
Samuel E. Balentine
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
History Of Interpretation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cultural Functions ◽  
Analytical Approaches

The conceit in the title of this volume is that ritual, however expansively it may be defined, is ineluctably tethered to religion and worship. It has a primal connection to the idea that a transcendent order—numinous and mysterious, supranatural and elusive, divine and wholly other—gives meaning and purpose to life. The construction of rites and rituals enables humans to conceive and apprehend this transcendent order, to symbolize it and interact with it, to postulate its truths in the face of contradicting realities and to repair them when they have been breached or diminished. The focus of this Handbook is on ritual and worship from the perspective of biblical studies, particularly on the Hebrew Bible and its ancient Near Eastern antecedents. Within this context, attention will be given to the development of ideas in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim thinking, but only insofar as they connect with or extend the trajectory of biblical precedents. The volume reflects a wide range of analytical approaches to ancient texts, inscriptions, iconography, and ritual artifacts. It examines the social history and cultural knowledge encoded in rituals and explores the way rituals shape and are shaped by politics, economics, ethical imperatives, and religion itself. Toward this end, the volume is organized into six major sections: Historical Contexts, Interpretive Approaches, Ritual Elements (participants, places, times, objects, practices), Cultural and Theological Perspectives, History of Interpretation, Social-Cultural Functions, and Theology and Theological Heritage.

scholarly journals Engaging culture and context in mhGAP implementation: fostering reflexive deliberation in practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. e002689
Author(s):  
Ana Gómez-Carrillo ◽  
Raphael Lencucha ◽  
Neda Faregh ◽  
Samuel Veissière ◽  
Laurence J Kirmayer
Keyword(s):  
Implementation Research ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Systems Of Care ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Practical Guide ◽  
Action Programme

In 2002, WHO launched the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) as a strategy to help member states scale up services to address the growing burden of mental, neurological and substance use disorders globally, especially in countries with limited resources. Since then, the mhGAP program has been widely implemented but also criticised for insufficient attention to cultural and social context and ethical issues. To address this issue and help overcome related barriers to scale-up, we outline a framework of questions exploring key cultural and ethical dimensions of mhGAP planning, adaptation, training, and implementation. This framework is meant to guide mhGAP activity taking place around the world. Our approach is informed by recent research on cultural formulation and adaptation, and aligned with key components of the WHO implementation research guide (Peters, D. H., Tran, N. T., & Adam, T. (2013). Implementation research in health: a practical guide. Implementation research in health: a practical guide.). The framework covers three broad domains: (1) Concepts of wellness and illness—how to examine cultural norms, knowledge, values and attitudes in relation to the “culture of the mhGAP”; (2) Systems of care—identifying formal and informal systems of care in the cultural context of practice.; and (3) Ethical space: examining issues related to power dynamics, communication, and decision-making. Systematic consideration of these issues can guide integration of cultural knowledge, structural competence, and ethics in implementation efforts.

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