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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Joe Henrich on Twitter
- Intro psych is one of the most popular courses in college, but the textbooks suck. Luckily there are great science books you can read instead👇🏼 @matthewcobb @sapinker @JoHenrich @neurograce @erezyoeli @Moshe_Hoffman @BasicBooks @penguinusa @fsgbooks t.co/Hazel8EWdv
- This is a huge blind spot for us in the Global North. Was blown away to learn what my collaborator from Nigeria had to go through to co-present with me at #ICTM2022 in Portugal last month. No visa for me - months waiting and hundreds of $$ for her. This is systemic racism. t.co/yDn8iCXlk0
- Very exciting pre-conference on historical psychology at SPSP! t.co/y0ZopmmNvu @JoHenrich @MohammadAtari90
- Replay: check out my appearance on Freakonomics Radio: t.co/nE2r2X45lr
- Eating breakfast in beautiful St Andrews, Scotland while I wait for the @DivIntelligence students to arrive. We're discussing what makes humans intelligent, including this short new paper with @johenrich: t.co/FAyWwGMXFi t.co/yyNyBG4msa