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More than just climate: Income inequality and sex ratio are better predictors of cross-cultural variations in aggression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2017

Jaimie Arona Krems  and
Michael E. W. Varnum
Jaimie Arona Krems
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104. jaimie.krems@asu.edu mvarnum@asu.edu http://jkrems.wixsite.com/jaimiearonakrems https://psychology.clas.asu.edu/research/labs/cultural-neuroscience-lab-varnum
Michael E. W. Varnum
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104. jaimie.krems@asu.edu mvarnum@asu.edu http://jkrems.wixsite.com/jaimiearonakrems https://psychology.clas.asu.edu/research/labs/cultural-neuroscience-lab-varnum
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Abstract

Van Lange et al. argue that variations in climate explain cross-societal variations in violence. We suggest that any approach seeking to understand cross-cultural variation in human behavior via an ecological framework must consider a wider array of ecological variables, and we find that income inequality and sex ratio are better predictors than climate of cross-societal variations in violence.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e89
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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