The WEIRDest People in the World
Learn more about Dr. Henrich's new book, The Weirdest People in the World, available now!
https://weirdpeople.fas.harvard.edu https://secretofoursuccess.fas.harvard.edu
Guiding Questions
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How has culture shaped our species genetic evolution, including our physiology, anatomy and psychology? How can we use evolutionary theory to understand how people learn and transmit culture, and how does this lay a foundation for building a theory of cultural evolution? How can we understand human social status? What’s the nature of prestige? How can we explain the breadth, intensity and peculiar character of human sociality and cooperation? What role has war and other forms of intergroup conflict played in human evolution, particularly in the evolution of cooperation and sociality? In only about 12,000 years, how did human societies expand from relatively small-scale hunter-gatherer bands to vast and complex nation states? What drives innovation and the process of cumulative cultural evolution? How does cultural evolution shape our psychology, brains, motivations, hormonal responses, intuitive reactions, beliefs, worldviews and preferences? How can we account for the immense psychological variation we observe across the globe? How can we explain the peculiar psychological and behavioral patterns observed in societies that are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD societies)? |
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What drove human evolution? How did our species go from being a relatively unremarkable primate a few million years ago to the most successful species on the globe?
Joe Henrich on Twitter
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Thanks! Great company t.co/VhF2xtODES
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Econtwitter is debating the value of reading classic versus modern econ. But there is also value reading outside the field. From classics like Darwin to moderns like Henrich. There is also plenty of mathematical modeling that is key in other fields, but unknown in economics /1
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Now out in @SciReports with @erezyoeli and @DG_Rand! “Don’t get it or don’t spread it: Comparing self-interested versus prosocial motivations for COVID-19 prevention behaviors” t.co/uN17NsLllq 🧵 1/n t.co/b5OHoYMkMz
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Sometimes, it makes sense to motivate health-seeking behaviors by appealing to people's concern for others. E.g., when it came to COVID-19 prevention behaviors early in the pandemic... t.co/oucW2GpmZ6
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In meerkats, "many newly formed groups failed within a year of formation, and smaller groups were more likely to fail" so in coop breeders, it might be worth to tolerate more competition if it means you & your lineage survive. t.co/SRPmGllppc
