TY - JOUR
T1 - Fast life histories, not pathogens, account for state-level variation in homicide, child maltreatment, and family ties in the U.S.
AU - Hackman, Joseph
AU - Hruschka, Daniel
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Joe Henrich for his encouragement and helpful comments on the project, and Martin Daly, John Ziker, Kris Smith, Claire Yee, Andrew Bishop, and Maddie Sands for constructive comments on earlier drafts. D.H. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation grant BCS-1150813 and the University of Chicago and Templeton Foundation New Science of Virtues Grant.
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - Parasite stress theory has recently been used to account for an array of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and social behavior, including in-group bias, interpersonal violence, child maltreatment, and religious adherence. Here, we re-assess the apparently ubiquitous effects of parasite stress on behavior observed in the U.S., using the cross-sectional, cross-population approach implemented by prior pathogen stress studies. Our results raise two challenges to previous findings. First, we show that the observed effects of pathogen stress in the U.S. data are due exclusively to one type of infectious disease - sexually transmitted diseases (STD) - while non-STD infections have no effect. Second, we find that controlling for life history measures of extrinsic risk and a fast life history erases the observed associations with family ties, interpersonal violence, child fatalities, and religious adherence. Thus, after appropriate variable specification, stratification, and control, U.S. cross-state population differences provide no support for the pathogen stress hypothesis in these various domains of behavior. Rather, the findings are more consistent with predictions from life history theory.
AB - Parasite stress theory has recently been used to account for an array of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and social behavior, including in-group bias, interpersonal violence, child maltreatment, and religious adherence. Here, we re-assess the apparently ubiquitous effects of parasite stress on behavior observed in the U.S., using the cross-sectional, cross-population approach implemented by prior pathogen stress studies. Our results raise two challenges to previous findings. First, we show that the observed effects of pathogen stress in the U.S. data are due exclusively to one type of infectious disease - sexually transmitted diseases (STD) - while non-STD infections have no effect. Second, we find that controlling for life history measures of extrinsic risk and a fast life history erases the observed associations with family ties, interpersonal violence, child fatalities, and religious adherence. Thus, after appropriate variable specification, stratification, and control, U.S. cross-state population differences provide no support for the pathogen stress hypothesis in these various domains of behavior. Rather, the findings are more consistent with predictions from life history theory.
KW - Homicide
KW - Life history
KW - Pathogens
KW - Religiosity
KW - Sexually transmitted disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84874228681&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84874228681&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.11.002
DO - 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2012.11.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84874228681
SN - 1090-5138
VL - 34
SP - 118
EP - 124
JO - Evolution and Human Behavior
JF - Evolution and Human Behavior
IS - 2
ER -