Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-h8lrw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-15T05:46:42.561Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Evolutionary research confirms that a need for collective action increases puritanism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2023

Agner Fog Open the ORCID record for Agner Fog [Opens in a new window]
Agner Fog*
Affiliation:
Technical University of Denmark, Ballerup, Denmark agner@agner.org; https://www.agner.org
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Recent findings in evolutionary psychology explain how moral disciplining is connected to the need for collective action. Morals are strict in societies affected by war or perceived collective danger, but loose where peace and security prevail. This theory supplements the moral disciplining theory by providing an evolutionary explanation for the postulated link between puritanism and the need for cooperation.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e304
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Allen, M. W., & Jones, T. L. (2014). Violence and warfare among hunter–gatherers. Left Coast Press.Google Scholar
Beugelsdijk, S., & Welzel, C. (2018). Dimensions and dynamics of national culture: Synthesizing Hofstede with Inglehart. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 49(10), 1469–1505. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022118798505CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fog, A. (2017). Warlike and peaceful societies: The interaction of genes and culture. Open Book. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0128CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fog, A. (2023). Psychological and cultural effects of different kinds of danger. An exploration based on survey data from 79 countries. Culture and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1556/2055.2023.00029CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hames, R. (2019). Pacifying hunter–gatherers. Human Nature, 30(2), 155–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-019-09340-wCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kiblinger, W. P. (2020). Human conflict from Neanderthals to the Samburu: Structure and agency in webs of violence. Springer Nature.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minkov, M. (2011). Cultural differences in a globalizing world. Emerald.Google Scholar
Sinn, J. S., & Hayes, M. W. (2017). Replacing the moral foundations: An evolutionary-coalitional theory of liberal-conservative differences. Political Psychology, 38(6), 1043–1064. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12361CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welzel, C. (2013). Freedom rising. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar