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Societies, identities, and macrodemes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2025

Marilynn B. Brewer Open the ORCID record for Marilynn B. Brewer [Opens in a new window]  and
Linnda R. Caporael
Marilynn B. Brewer*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA brewer.64@osu.edu
Linnda R. Caporael
Affiliation:
Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA linncapo@iu.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

We examine the similarities and differences between Moffett's conceptualization of society and the core configuration model of social groupings. Anonymous societies correspond to the macrodeme level of coordination in the core configuration model, and recognizing that identity-based groups are defined by shared distinctiveness rather than territory encourages a more organic understanding of social groups.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 48 , 2025 , e57
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

Brewer, M. B. (1991). The social self: On being the same and different at the same time. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 475–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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Caporael, L. R., & Garvey, C. K. (2014) The primacy of scaffolding within groups for the evolution of group-level traits. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 37, 255–256.Google ScholarPubMed