A5027864314- Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
- Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Child and Animal Learning Development
- Cultural Differences and Values
- Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Language and cultural evolution
- Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Religion and Society Interactions
- Social and Cultural Dynamics
- Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Gender Diversity and Inequality
- Obesity and Health Practices
- Data-Driven Disease Surveillance
- Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Community Health and Development
- Religion, Society, and Development
- Personality Traits and Psychology
- Educational Strategies and Epistemologies
- Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Culture, Economy, and Development Studies
- Media Influence and Health
Arizona State University
2019-2024
University of California, Santa Barbara
2016-2023
Elon University
2023
University of Edinburgh
2021
What motives do people prioritize in their social lives? Historically, psychologists, especially those adopting an evolutionary perspective, have devoted a great deal of research attention to sexual attraction and romantic-partner choice (mate seeking). Research on long-term familial bonds retention kin care) has been less thoroughly connected relevant comparative work other species, the case care, these well researched. Examining varied sources data from 27 societies around world, we found...
How much cultural variation is explained by the physical and social ecologies people inhabit? Here, we provide an answer using nine ecological variables 66 (including personality traits, values norms) drawn from EcoCultural Dataset. We generate a range of estimates different statistical metrics (e.g. current levels, average levels across time, unpredictability time) each variables. Our results suggest that, on average, ecology explains substantial amount human above beyond spatial...
Google search data has been described as the most important dataset on human nature ever assembled, giving nearly instant access to datasets that can provide insights questions about various topics, including disease, racism, religiosity, well-being, and mental health. These are customizable—researchers compare volume across of world or zoom into specific geographic regions; hourly within last week look at monthly since 2004. However, they have limitations. We a comprehensive overview...
This study tested the hypothesis that in minds of adult religious adherents, acquired beliefs about extraordinary characteristics God coexist with, rather than replace, an initial representation formed by co-option evolved person concept. In three experiments, Christian adherents were asked to evaluate a series statements for which core intuitions persons and consistent (i.e., true according both [e.g., "God has are true"] or false "All false"]) inconsistent on intuition but theologically...
Researchers increasingly recognize that the mind and culture interact at many levels to constitute our lived experience, yet we know relatively little about extent which shapes way people appraise their experiences likelihood a given experience will be reported. Experiences involve claims regarding deities, extraordinary abilities, and/or psychopathology offer an important site for investigating interplay of population level. However, difficulties inherent in comparing culture-laden...
According to many, we live in "posttruth" times, with the pervasiveness of falsehoods being an existential threat democracy and functioning free societies. Why do people believe propagate falsehoods? Current accounts focus on psychological deficiencies, heuristic errors, self-enhancing motivations, motivations sow chaos. Here, advance a complementary, outwardly (vs. inwardly) oriented, ultimate proximate) account that often spread for socially functional reasons. Under this view, can serve...
Belief in beings without physical bodies is prevalent present and past religions, from all-powerful gods to demonic spirits guardian angels immortal souls. Many scholars have explained this prevalence by a quirk how we conceptualize persons, intuitively representing their minds as separable bodies. Infants both folk psychology (for the mental states of intentional agents) physics properties objects) but are said apply only persons. The two modes construal become integrated with development,...
When explaining why an event occurred, people intuitively highlight some causes while ignoring others. How do decide which to select? Models of causal judgment have been evaluated in simple and controlled laboratory experiments, but they yet be tested a complex real-world setting. Here, we provide such test, the context 2020 U.S. presidential election. Across tens thousands simulations possible election outcomes, computed, for each state, adjusted measure correlation between Biden victory...
Abstract Scholars interested in cultural diversity have long suggested that similarities and differences across human populations might be understood, at least part, as stemming from the social physical ecologies individuals inhabit. Here, we describe EcoCultural Dataset (ECD), most comprehensive compilation to date of country-level ecological variables around globe. ECD covers 220 countries, 9 operationalized by 11 statistical metrics (including measures variability predictability), 72...
Why are disembodied extraordinary beings like gods and spirits prevalent in past present theologies? Under the intuitive Cartesian dualism hypothesis, this is because it natural to conceptualize of minds as separate from bodies; under counterintuitiveness beliefs without bodies unnatural-such violate core knowledge intuitions about person physicality consequently have a social transmission advantage. We report on critical test these contrasting hypotheses. Prior research found that among...
What motives do people prioritize in their social lives? Historically, psychologists, especially those adopting an evolutionary perspective, have devoted a great deal of research attention to sexual attraction and romantic partner choice (mate-seeking). Research on long-term familial bonds (mate retention kin care) has been less thoroughly connected relevant comparative work other species, the case care, well researched. Examining varied sources data from 27 societies around world, we found...
How much cultural variation is explained by the physical and social ecologies people inhabit? Here, we provide an answer using nine ecological variables 66 (including personality traits, values, norms) drawn from EcoCultural Dataset. We generate a range of estimates different statistical metrics (e.g., current levels, average levels across time, unpredictability time) each variables. Our results suggest that, on average, ecology explains substantial amount human above beyond spatial...
Across cultures, women reliably exhibit higher levels of Neuroticism than men. Recent work shows that this sex difference, particularly in Neuroticism’s anxiety facet, is partly mediated by the difference physical strength. We build on finding testing pre-registered predictions mediation strength differences HEXACO Emotionality and its Anxiety Fearfulness facets (HEXACO stands for factors honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience)....
When operationalizing ‘religiosity’ or ‘spirituality’ ‘religious experience’ as measurable constructs, researchers tacitly treat them if they were cross-culturally stable ‘things’ rather than investigating the way culturally-laden concepts, such ‘religious’ ‘spiritual,’ are used to interpret appraise contested aspects of human life within and across cultures. To illustrate distinction, we contrast traditional research design that Religious Experience Research Centre survey compare “religious...
Researchers increasingly recognize that the mind and culture interact at many levels to constitute our lived experience, yet we know relatively little about extent which shapes way people appraise their experiences likelihood a given experience will be reported. Experiences involve claims regarding deities, extraordinary abilities, and/or psychopathology offer an important site for investigating interplay of population level. However, difficulties inherent in comparing culture-laden...
Communication is central to human life, yet it leaves humans vulnerable misinformation and manipulation.Humans have therefore evolved a suite of psychological mechanisms for the evaluation speakers their messages.Here, we test key hypothesized function these "epistemic vigilance" mechanisms: selective remembering links between messages that are inconsistent with preexisting beliefs.Across four experiments, participants (N = 707) read stories associated different contexts, each story...
According to many, we live in “post-truth” times, with the widespread belief and propagation of falsehoods being an existential threat democracy functioning free societies. Why do people believe falsehoods? Two accounts predominate. The first spotlights information ecosystem how process this information; account either casts those who as cognitively deficient or focuses on reasoning decision-making heuristics all use. second inwardly-oriented proximate motivation have enhance they think feel...
Whether as representations inhabiting individual minds, or propositions codified in classic texts, norms play important roles social life. But of the many threats and opportunities humans face, which are most about? In seven studies, people rated on how relevant they for achieving goals eleven fundamental domains Across well-known sets U.S. (Ten Commandments, Hippocratic Oath, Scout Law), free-listed personally U.S., Korea, Mexico, we found that think closely linked to group-related...
Google search data has been described as the most important dataset on human nature ever assembled, giving nearly instant access to datasets that can provide insights questions about various topics, including disease, racism, religiosity, well-being, and mental health. These are customizable—researchers compare volume across of world or zoom into specific geographic regions; hourly within last week look at monthly since 2004. However, they have limitations. We a comprehensive overview...
Abstract Do people believe in historical myths because they are manipulated by coalitional recruiters, or it is their interests to do so? The target article gives somewhat conflicting explanations. We propose that the audiences of socially rather than epistemically motivated – and propagate as a way signaling commitments.
Overweight and obese (“heavyweight”) people devalue themselves because, it has been proposed, they are socially devalued. However, for women, social valuation depends not only on how much weight carry but also where their bodies it. Here, we investigated whether weight-based self-valuation perceived similarly depend body shape. Study 1, using a nationally representative sample from National Health Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; N = 1,093 reproductive-aged women), showed that,...