People and Places
The cultural evolution of love in literary history
Nicolas Baumard et al.
Nature Human Behaviour, April 2022, Pages 506–522
Abstract:
Since the late nineteenth century, cultural historians have noted that the importance of love increased during the Medieval and Early Modern European period (a phenomenon that was once referred to as the emergence of ‘courtly love’). However, more recent works have shown a similar increase in Chinese, Arabic, Persian, Indian and Japanese cultures. Why such a convergent evolution in very different cultures? Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, we leverage literary history and build a database of ancient literary fiction for 19 geographical areas and 77 historical periods covering 3,800 years, from the Middle Bronze Age to the Early Modern period. We first confirm that romantic elements have increased in Eurasian literary fiction over the past millennium, and that similar increases also occurred earlier, in Ancient Greece, Rome and Classical India. We then explore the ecological determinants of this increase. Consistent with hypotheses from cultural history and behavioural ecology, we show that a higher level of economic development is strongly associated with a greater incidence of love in narrative fiction (our proxy for the importance of love in a culture). To further test the causal role of economic development, we used a difference-in-difference method that exploits exogenous regional variations in economic development resulting from the adoption of the heavy plough in medieval Europe. Finally, we used probabilistic generative models to reconstruct the latent evolution of love and to assess the respective role of cultural diffusion and economic development.
Perceptions of having less in the U.S. but having more in China are associated with stronger inequality aversion
Yi Ding et al.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Decades of research predominantly conducted in Western societies reveals that people, especially the less wealthy, are averse to high levels of inequality. However, empirical comparative studies on perceived wealth and inequality aversion across nations are rare. Here, we examine how responses to unequal monetary allocations among those with high or low subjective wealth might differ in the U.S. and China. Four studies reveal that in the U.S. people who perceive themselves as less (versus more) wealthy are more likely to reject unequal allocations — the less wealthy are sensitive to some restoration of equality. Conversely, in China, the wealthy rather than the less wealthy are more prone to reject unequal allocations. We also find some evidence that differences in feelings of deservingness help explain the observed opposing effects of subjective wealth and inequality aversion. Thus, it is plausible that the well-established tendencies of equality restoration observed in Western societies may not necessarily generalize to non-Western societies, especially those societies where differences in income and wealth are more strongly respected, valued, and protected.
Cultural diversity broadens social networks
Adrienne Wood, Adam Kleinbaum & Thalia Wheatley
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Migration and mobility increase the cultural diversity of a society. Does this diversity have consequences for how people interact and form social ties, even when they join a new community? We hypothesized that people from regions with greater cultural diversity would forge more diversified social ties in a newly formed community, connecting otherwise unconnected groups. In other words, they would become social brokers. We tested this prediction by characterizing the social networks of eight Master of Business Administration cohorts (N = 2,257) at a business school in the U.S. International students (N = 773) from populations with both greater present day ethnic diversity and a history of extensive cultural intermingling were more likely to become social brokers than international students from less diverse nations. Domestic students’ (N = 1,461) brokerage scores were also positively related to the ancestral diversity of the U.S. county they identified as “home.” The results of this study suggest that more culturally diverse social environments — defined here at multiple geographic and temporal scales — endow people with socially adaptable behaviors that help them connect broadly within new, heterogeneous communities.
Unexpectedly Mortal: The Effects of Political Violence and Commemoration on Pro-Social Behavior
Vladimir Zabolotskiy
Journal of Historical Political Economy, Winter 2022, Pages 65-87
Abstract:
In this paper, I address collective memory as a potential transmission vehicle and study how the commemoration of political violence might promote the associated effects. I exploit variation in the location of 1930s political arrest sites in Moscow and in the locations of memorial plaques that commemorate these arrests. I find that individuals currently residing nearby the arrest sites are less likely to engage in pro-social behavior, namely online donations. Most importantly, the effect appears insignificant in the absence of commemoration. These findings suggest that commemoration and collective memory revitalization might play a crucial role in the persistence of historical legacies even in transient communities.
Sweet Unbinding: Sugarcane cultivation and the demise of foot-binding
Nora Cheng, Elliott Fan & Tsong-Min Wu
Journal of Development Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
We analyze the economic motives for the sudden demise in foot-binding, a self-harming custom widely practiced by Chinese females for centuries. We use newly-discovered Taiwanese data to estimate the extent to which females unbound their feet in response to the rapid growth in sugarcane cultivation in the early 20th century, growth which significantly boosted the demand for female labor. We find that cane cultivation significantly induced unbinding, with the IV estimations utilizing cane railroads – lines built exclusively for cane transportation – support a causal interpretation of the estimated effect. This finding implies that increased female employment opportunities can help eliminate norms that are harmful for females. Further analysis suggests that the need for human capital improvement was more likely to have driven the effects of cane cultivation, rather than the increased intra-household bargaining power for females.
The global belief that “life gets better and better”: National differences in recollected past, present, and anticipated future life satisfaction around the world, across time, and in relation to societal functioning
Michael Busseri
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
National-level differences in individuals’ ratings of their recollected past, current, and anticipated future life satisfaction (LS) were examined using results from two pioneering projects comprising national-level results for 14 countries (Cantril, 1965) and 15 regions of the world (Gallup International Research Institutes & Charles F. Kettering Foundation, 1976; Study 1), as well as sequential results from the Gallup World Poll based on 137 countries representing a broad range of nations from around the world surveyed from 2005 to 2018 (Study 2). Results from both studies revealed a robust belief that “life gets better” over time (i.e., recollected past < current < anticipated future LS) in nations around the world. Such beliefs were examined in relation to objective and subjective indicators of societal-level functioning. Results replicated across studies in showing that nations with less positive societal functioning and prosperity were characterized by less recollected past improvements in LS, and yet greater anticipated future improvements in LS. Results from Study 2 also revealed that such expectations were positively biased compared to changes over time in national levels of LS; further, greater bias was related to less positive societal-level functioning. In conclusion, examining national-level differences in LS from a subjective temporal perspective provides valuable new insights concerning human development and prosperity across countries, over time, and around the world.
How You Talk About It Matters: Cultural Variation in Communication Directness in Romantic Relationships
Fiona Ge, Jiyoung Park & Paula Pietromonaco
Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Communication plays an integral role in shaping romantic relationship quality. Yet, little is known about whether people from different cultural backgrounds communicate differently in their romantic relationships. Here, we addressed this issue by examining (a) whether the extent to which individuals communicate directly or indirectly in their romantic relationships varies by culture, (b) what mechanism underlies these cultural differences, and (c) how the fit between culture and communication style contributes to expected relationship satisfaction. Three key findings emerged across three studies (total N = 1,193). First, Chinese preferred indirect (vs. direct) communication more than European Americans, and this effect was more strongly pronounced in positively (vs. negatively) valenced situations (Studies 1–3). Second, interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal mediated the cultural difference in indirect communication both in positive and negative situations (Study 3). Finally, both cultural groups anticipated greater relationship satisfaction when they imagined their partner using the culturally preferred mode of communication — that is, indirect communication for Chinese and direct communication for European Americans (Study 3). These findings advance theory on culture and romantic relationship processes by demonstrating cultural differences in preferred communication styles across different situational contexts, identifying self-construal differences underlying these preferred communication styles, and highlighting the importance of congruence between culture and communication style for the quality of relationships.
Grammatical gender and anthropomorphism: “It” depends on the language
Alican Mecit, Tina Lowrey & L.J. Shrum
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
When English speakers anthropomorphize animals or objects, they refer to such entities using human pronouns (e.g., he or she instead of it). Unlike English, which marks gender only for humans, gendered languages such as French grammatically mark gender not only for humans but also for nonhumans. Research has shown that in gendered languages, although gender marking of nonhuman nouns is semantically arbitrary, people ascribe male and female properties to nonhuman entities consistent with their grammatical gender. Because grammatical gender conveys human-related properties, we question whether grammatically gender-marking nonhumans may elicit anthropomorphism tendencies. Across six studies, we show that gender marking of nonhuman nouns in gendered languages influences the way individuals mentally represent these entities and increases their anthropomorphism tendencies. We demonstrate the effects both by comparing anthropomorphism as a function of natural differences in languages with French–English bilinguals (Study 1) and by training native English speakers to use gender marking for nonhuman nouns as speakers of gendered languages do (Study 2). The following studies further demonstrate the effects within the French language by measuring (Study 3a) and manipulating (Studies 3b and 4) the salience of gender markings of nonhuman nouns. In Study 5 (preregistered), we replicate our basic finding and establish grammatical gender as an important linguistic element in shaping French speakers’ anthropomorphism tendencies. We discuss the findings and the limitations in the culture–language–cognition triad and layout their implications for the debate on the extent to which language can mediate categorical and perceptual judgments.
The Impact of Cultural Distance on Performance at the Summer Olympic Games
Yun Hyeong Choi et al.
SAGE Open, March 2022
Abstract:
This article suggests that the cultural distance between participating and host countries can be a new determinant of medal performance at international sports competitions. Prior research has mainly focused on single-country variables, including population size, GDP, political system, and home advantage. This paper provides a unique perspective on the determinants of medals won at the Summer Olympic Games and argues that the gap between host and participant countries may explain the substantial variance of medal performance. Specifically, we find that countries participating in the Summer Olympic Games hosted in a culturally distant country show poor medal performance. These findings highlight the importance of a joint study between the dimensions of national culture and sports management.
Help-Seeking Tendencies and Subjective Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the United States and Japan
Verity Lua et al.
Social Psychology Quarterly, forthcoming
Abstract:
Help-seeking is commonly conceived as an instrumental behavior that improves people’s subjective well-being. However, most findings supporting a positive association between help-seeking and subjective well-being are observed in independence-preferring countries. Drawing from research demonstrating that the pathways to subjective well-being are culturally divergent, we posit that help-seeking tendencies may be detrimental to subjective well-being for members in interdependence-preferring countries where norms for preserving relational harmony and face concerns are prevalent. This study tested the moderating role of country in the relationship between help-seeking tendencies and subjective well-being using data from 5,068 American and Japanese participants. Results revealed that although help-seeking tendencies were associated with greater life satisfaction, higher positive affect, and lower negative affect among Americans, help-seeking tendencies were associated with poorer life satisfaction and lower positive affect among Japanese. We discuss the importance of adopting culturally sensitive perspectives when examining antecedents of subjective well-being.
Experimental evidence for expectation-driven linguistic convergence
Lacey Wade
Language, March 2022, Pages 63-97
Abstract:
This article examines the role of sociolinguistic expectations in linguistic convergence, using glide-weakened /aɪ/ — a salient feature of Southern US English — as a test case. I present the results of two experiments utilizing a novel experimental paradigm for eliciting convergence — the word-naming game task — in which participants read aloud (baseline) or hear (exposure) clues describing particular words and then give their guesses out loud. Participants converged toward a Southern-shifted model talker by producing more glide-weakened tokens of /aɪ/, without ever hearing the model talker produce this vowel. Participants in the control (Midland talker) condition exhibited no such response. Convergence was facilitated by both living in the South and producing less-weakened baseline /aɪ/ glides, but attitudinal and domain-general individual-differences measures did not reliably predict convergence behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the cognitive mechanisms underlying convergence behaviors and the mental representations of sociolinguistic knowledge.
The importance of being unearnest: Opportunists and the making of culture
Ivan Hernandez et al.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Opportunistic actors — who behave expediently, cheating when they can and offering minimal cooperation only when they have to — play an important role in producing some puzzling phenomena, including the flourishing of strong reciprocity, the peculiar correlation between positive and negative reciprocity within cultures of honor, and low levels of social capital within tight and collectivist cultures (that one might naively assume would produce high levels of social capital). Using agent-based models and an experiment, we show how Opportunistic actors enable the growth of Strong Reciprocators, whose strategy is the exact opposite of the Opportunists. Additionally, previous research has shown how the threat of punishment can sustain cooperation within a group. However, the present studies illustrate how stringent demands for cooperation and severe punishments for noncooperation can also backfire and reduce the amount of voluntary, uncoerced cooperation in a society. The studies illuminate the role Opportunists play in producing these backfire effects. In addition to highlighting other features shaping culture (e.g., risk and reward in the environment, “founder effects” requiring a critical mass of certain strategies at a culture’s initial stage), the studies help illustrate how Opportunists create aspects of culture that otherwise seem paradoxical, are dismissed as “error,” or produce unintended consequences.