The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values and Sociality

Thornhill, Randy; Fincher, Corey L.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-08040-6

Cited by 161 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 288 publications

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“…Evolutionary theorists argue that humans have developed a behavioral immune system (Schaller & Park, 2011), a suite of cognitive-behavioral tendenciesincluding collectivism -that reduce disease transmission. Collectivism limits people's contact outside the in-group, reducing the likelihood of acquiring infections (Thornhill & Fincher, 2014).…”

Section: Changes In Ecology and Changes In Icmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Increases in Individualism

2017

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Individualism appears to have increased over the past several decades, yet most research documenting this shift has been limited to the study of a handful of highly developed countries. Is the world becoming more individualist as a whole? If so, why? To answer these questions, we examined 51 years of data on individualist practices and values across 78 countries. Our findings suggest that individualism is indeed rising in most of the societies we tested. Despite dramatic shifts toward greater individualism around the world, however, cultural differences remain sizable. Moreover, cultural differences are primarily linked to changes in socioeconomic development, and to a lesser extent to shifts in pathogen prevalence and disaster frequency.

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Section: Changes In Ecology and Changes In Icmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Increases in Individualism

2017

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“…According to the parasite stress hypothesis (e.g., Fincher & Thornhill, ; Schaller & Duncan, ; Thornhill & Fincher, ), levels of parasitic infection within a region may drive variability at both individual and societal levels. The avoidance of death or disability through avoidance of infection is a major evolutionary driving force.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High regional levels of parasite stress are associated with authoritarian societies and authoritarian attitudes at the level of individuals (Cashdan & Steele, ; Murray, Schaller, & Suedfeld, ; Thornhill & Fincher, ; Thornhill et al., , ; although see Pollet, ). Brown et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personality, Parasites, Political Attitudes, and Cooperation: A Model of How Infection Prevalence Influences Openness and Social Group Formation

Brown

Fincher

Walasek

2015

Topics in Cognitive Science

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What is the origin of individual differences in ideology and personality? According to the parasite stress hypothesis, the structure of a society and the values of individuals within it are both influenced by the prevalence of infectious disease within the society's geographical region. High levels of infection threat are associated with more ethnocentric and collectivist social structures and greater adherence to social norms, as well as with socially conservative political ideology and less open but more conscientious personalities. Here we use an agent‐based model to explore a specific opportunities‐parasites trade‐off (OPTO) hypothesis, according to which utility‐maximizing agents place themselves at an optimal point on a trade‐off between (a) the gains that may be achieved through accessing the resources of geographically or socially distant out‐group members through openness to out‐group interaction, and (b) the losses arising due to consequently increased risks of exotic infection to which immunity has not been developed. We examine the evolution of cooperation and the formation of social groups within social networks, and we show that the groups that spontaneously form exhibit greater local rather than global cooperative networks when levels of infection are high. It is suggested that the OPTO model offers a first step toward understanding the specific mechanisms through which environmental conditions may influence cognition, ideology, personality, and social organization.

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“…Viewed in this light, higher prevalence of infectious diseases faced by a society should promote conservative values and predict the creation of collectivistic cultures (Fincher and Thornhill 2012;Thornhill and Fincher 2014). Viewed in this light, higher prevalence of infectious diseases faced by a society should promote conservative values and predict the creation of collectivistic cultures (Fincher and Thornhill 2012;Thornhill and Fincher 2014).…”

Section: B Endogeneity Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture, Legal Origins, and Financial Development

Ang

2019

Economic Inquiry

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This study proposes that countries with a cultural orientation toward individualism tend to enjoy a higher level of financial development. Estimates based on cross-country data lend strong support to this hypothesis. Specifically, the results indicate that existing disparity in the level of financial development is significantly correlated with variation in the extent of individualism across countries, where a one standard deviation increase in individualism is associated with 0.631 standard deviations improvement in the level of financial development. The results are robust to a number of considerations. Additional results provide some support to the notion that individualistic culture and legal origin may serve as complements rather than substitutes to each other. (JEL O40, O50, Z10) 1016

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The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values and Sociality

Cited by 161 publications

References 288 publications

Global Increases in Individualism

Global Increases in Individualism

Personality, Parasites, Political Attitudes, and Cooperation: A Model of How Infection Prevalence Influences Openness and Social Group Formation

Culture, Legal Origins, and Financial Development

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