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Ownership psychology, its antecedents and consequences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2023

Pascal Boyer Open the ORCID record for Pascal Boyer [Opens in a new window]
Pascal Boyer*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology & Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA pboyer@wustl.edu; http://www.pascalboyer.net
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Abstract

Commentators discussed the coherence and validity of a minimalist approach to ownership intuitions, in ways that make it possible to clarify the model, re-evaluate its cognitive underpinnings, and sketch some of its implications. This response summarizes the model; addresses issues concerning the need for a special technical lexicon when describing cognitive semantics; the psychology involved in contexts of competitive acquisition and their consequences for possession and use of rival resources; the role of cooperative expectations in creating mutually beneficial allocation of resources; the consequences of ownership psychology for social interaction and the production of social norms of property; and the relations between psychological processes and legal institutions in the domain, before proposing some final thoughts.

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Author's Response
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Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e355
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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