Measuring frequency-dependent selection in culture

Newberry, Mitchell G.; Plotkin, Joshua B.

doi:10.1038/s41562-022-01342-6

Cited by 19 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Where and if it stabilizes can be determined only in future years. Some given names have marked boom-bust cycles of popularity (Berger & Le Mens, 2009;Kessler et al, 2012;Xi et al, 2014;Newberry & Plotkin, 2022) (Figure S1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where and if it stabilises can be determined only in future years. Some given names have marked boom-bust cycles of popularity (Berger & Le Mens, 2009;Kessler et al, 2012;Xi et al, 2014;Newberry & Plotkin, 2022; Figure S1). Generation-length bubbles appear to be driven by negative frequency-dependent interactions (Newberry & Plotkin, 2022) that involve cultural preferences for novelty vs. commonness (Twenge et al, 2016;Newberry & Plotkin, 2022) or for conformity vs. non-conformity (Acerbi & Bentley, 2014;Denton et al, 2021;Newberry & Plotkin, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The chosen name -whatever prompted its choice --can have life-long effects on the offspring's self-identity (Allport, 1937) and achievements (Moss-Racusin et al, 2012;Goldstein & Stecklov, 2016), as well as on its exposure to stereotyping and prejudice (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004;Moss-Racusin et al, 2012;Okonofua & Eberhardt, 2015). Some names are perennially and broadly popular (Newberry & Plotkin, 2022), but others show striking boom and bust patterns of popularity (Lieberson & Bell, 1992;Berger & Le Mens, 2009;Liu et al, 2022;Newberry & Plotkin, 2022) (Figure S1). Still other names vary geographically in popularity, suggesting that regional cultural patterns can influence name choice (Varnum & Kitayama, 2011;Bentley & Ormerod, 2012;Barucca et al, 2015;Pomorski et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As with all large-scale analyses of baby names (Bentley & Ormerod, 2012;Barucca et al, 2015;Liu et al, 2022;Newberry & Plotkin, 2022), our analyses are descriptive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Signatures of geography, climate and foliage on given names of baby girls

Huey

Miles

2022

Evolut. Hum. Sci.

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Parents often weigh social, familial, and cultural considerations when choosing their baby's name, but the name they choose could potentially be influenced by their physical or biotic environments. Here we examine whether the popularity of month and season names of girls covary geographically with environmental variables. In the continental USA, April, May, and June (Autumn, Summer) are the most common month (season) names: April predominates in southern states (early springs), whereas June predominates in northern states (later springs). Whether April's popularity has increased with recent climate warming is ambiguous. Autumn is most popular in northern states, where autumn foliage is notably colourful, and in eastern states having high coverage of deciduous foliage. On a continental scale, Autumn was most popular in English-speaking countries with intense colouration of autumn foliage. These analyses are descriptive but indicate that climate and vegetation sometimes influence parental choice of their baby's name.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As with all large-scale analyses of baby names (Bentley & Ormerod, 2012;Barucca et al, 2015;Liu et al, 2022;Newberry & Plotkin, 2022), our analyses are descriptive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Signatures of geography, climate and foliage on given names of baby girls

Huey

Miles

2022

Evolut. Hum. Sci.

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show abstract

“…Previous research has focused on looking for patterns of selection on first names, but results have been inconclusive (Hahn & Bentley, 2003). However, recent work has shown that by integrating the effect of time, a clear pattern of increased preference for rare names emerges (Newberry & Plotkin, 2021). These results show that as a name becomes more common, the chance that parents use this name for their child decreases.…”

Section: Individual Distinction In Human Languagementioning

confidence: 98%