Fast life histories, not pathogens, account for state-level variation in homicide, child maltreatment, and family ties in the U.S.

Hackman, Joseph; Hruschka, Daniel J.

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.11.002

Cited by 66 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Consistent with previous analyses of ethnicity-stratified pathogen prevalence (Hackman & Hruschka, 2013), Whites' C&G rates did not correlate significantly with endorsement of any foundation. Urbanization correlated negatively with Morals USA 13 Purity.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Variables associated with life-history strategy, such as investment in mating and indicators of extrinsic risk (e.g., Hill & Kaplan, 1999), may explain an observed relation between pathogen prevalence and moral preferences. Indeed, recent research by Hackman and Hruschka (2013) showed that, across the USA, controlling for life-history variables resulted in non-significant correlations among pathogen prevalence and the variables theoretically related to it. Specifically, when controlling for teenage birth rate and ethnicity as measures of faster life-history strategy and extrinsic risk, respectively, pathogen prevalence no longer predicted variation in homicide, child abuse, and strength of family ties across states (cf.…”

Section: Pathogen Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For individuals living in the USA, ethnicity is indicative of a broad range of risks and uncertainties (e.g., infant mortality and homicide; Arias, MacDorman, Strobino, & Guyer, 2003;Xu, Kochanek, Murphy, & Tejada-Vera, 2010) and is associated with discrepancies in life expectancy (Harper, Lynch, Burris, & Smith, 2007). Analyses that aggregate across ethnicity may thus Morals USA 9 confound ethnicity with variables related to risk and uncertainty (Hackman & Hruschka, 2013).…”

Section: Pathogen Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…We obtained state-level data for urbanization, pathogen prevalence, and life-history For all 50 states, data on pathogen prevalence were obtained from Hackman and Hruschka (2013), who critiqued the pathogen prevalence measure provided by Fincher and Thornhill (2012). To estimate state-level pathogen prevalence, Fincher and Thornhill used data from the US's Centers for Disease Control for the set of infectious diseases monitored for all states for the years 1993-2007.…”

Section: State-level Predictorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For Morals USA 12 each year, the number of cases of disease was controlled for state population. Hackman and Hruschka (2013) showed that Fincher and Thornhill's (2012) Table S3.…”

Section: State-level Predictorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Moral concerns across the United States: associations with life-history variables, pathogen prevalence, urbanization, cognitive ability, and social class

Leeuwen

Koenig

Graham

et al. 2014

Evolution and Human Behavior

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Pathogen Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pathogen Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: State-level Predictorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For Morals USA 12 each year, the number of cases of disease was controlled for state population. Hackman and Hruschka (2013) showed that Fincher and Thornhill's (2012) Table S3.…”

Section: State-level Predictorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Moral concerns across the United States: associations with life-history variables, pathogen prevalence, urbanization, cognitive ability, and social class

Leeuwen

Koenig

Graham

et al. 2014

Evolution and Human Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evolutionary Psychology and Evolutionary Anthropology

Fessler

Clark

Clint

2015

The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology

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This chapter offers a selective survey of the contributions that evolutionary anthropology (EA) can make to research in evolutionary psychology (EP). Drawing on paleoanthropology, we underscore the importance of phylogeny in understanding adaptations, including the kludgy nature of many, and the conflicts that arise among them. This approach underscores the trait‐specific nature of environments of evolutionary adaptedness (EEAs), directing attention to the differential phylogenetic depth of different adaptations. Paleoanthropology is complemented by studies of small‐scale societies, demonstrating, for example, that social dynamics in such groups indicate that mechanisms governing human cooperation likely did not stem from kin selection and reciprocal altruism. Central to anthropology is the recognition of the variation in ecologies and social structures characteristic of humans. Such variation selects for adaptations that either facultatively adjust output in light of local environment, or facilitate cultural acquisition. We examine the parasite‐stress theory (PST) account of cross‐cultural variation in light reconstructions of past societies, arguing against a strong evoked‐culture explanation, and in favor of a transmitted‐culture account wherein learning mechanisms are hijacked by cultural evolution. We close by discussing (a) ways to interpret cross‐cultural variation or uniformity; and (b) contributions of EP to EA. Finally, we offer a brief roadmap for applying EA in EP.

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A hierarchical bayesian analysis of parasite prevalence and sociocultural outcomes: The role of structural racism and sanitation infrastructure

Ross

Winterhalder

2015

American J Hum Biol

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Objectives: We conduct a revaluation of the Thornhill and Fincher research project on parasites using finelyresolved geographic data on parasite prevalence, individual-level sociocultural data, and multilevel Bayesian modeling. In contrast to the evolutionary psychological mechanisms linking parasites to human behavior and cultural characteristics proposed by Thornhill and Fincher, we offer an alternative hypothesis that structural racism and differential access to sanitation systems drive both variation in parasite prevalence and differential behaviors and cultural characteristics.Methods: We adopt a Bayesian framework to estimate parasite prevalence rates in 51 districts in eight Latin American countries using the disease status of 170,220 individuals tested for infection with the intestinal roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides (H€ urlimann et al., [2011]: PLoS Negl Trop Dis 5:e1404). We then use district-level estimates of parasite prevalence and individual-level social data from 5,558 individuals in the same 51 districts (Latinobarometro, 2008) to assess claims of causal associations between parasite prevalence and sociocultural characteristics.Results: We find, contrary to Thornhill and Fincher, that parasite prevalence is positively associated with preferences for democracy, negatively associated with preferences for collectivism, and not associated with violent crime rates or gender inequality. A positive association between parasite prevalence and religiosity, as in Fincher and Thornhill (2012: Behav Brain Sci 35:61-79), and a negative association between parasite prevalence and achieved education, as predicted by Eppig et al. (2010: Proc R S B: Biol Sci 277:3801-3808), become negative and unreliable when reasonable controls are included in the model. We find support for all predictions derived from our hypothesis linking structural racism to both parasite prevalence and cultural outcomes.Conclusions: We conclude that best practices in biocultural modeling require examining more than one hypothesis, retaining individual-level data and its associated variance whenever possible, and adopting multilevel techniques suited to the structuring of the data. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 00:000-000, 2015.

show abstract

Fast life histories, not pathogens, account for state-level variation in homicide, child maltreatment, and family ties in the U.S.

Cited by 66 publications

References 46 publications

Moral concerns across the United States: associations with life-history variables, pathogen prevalence, urbanization, cognitive ability, and social class

Moral concerns across the United States: associations with life-history variables, pathogen prevalence, urbanization, cognitive ability, and social class

Evolutionary Psychology and Evolutionary Anthropology

A hierarchical bayesian analysis of parasite prevalence and sociocultural outcomes: The role of structural racism and sanitation infrastructure

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