Pathogen prevalence predicts human cross-cultural variability in individualism/collectivism

Pathogenic diseases impose selection pressures on the social behaviour of host populations. In humans (Homo sapiens), many psychological phenomena appear to serve an antipathogen defence function. One broad implication is the existence of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and behaviour c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2008-06, Vol.275 (1640), p.1279-1285
Main Authors: Fincher, Corey L, Thornhill, Randy, Murray, Damian R, Schaller, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collectivism
Communicable Diseases - epidemiology
Communicable Diseases - psychology
Communicable Diseases - transmission
Cross cultural differences
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Cultural values
Epidemiologic Factors
Epidemiology
Geographic regions
Geopolitics
Human Culture
Humans
Individualism
Infectious Disease
Infectious diseases
Models, Biological
Models, Psychological
Pathogens
Social Behavior
Social Behaviour
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Summary:Pathogenic diseases impose selection pressures on the social behaviour of host populations. In humans (Homo sapiens), many psychological phenomena appear to serve an antipathogen defence function. One broad implication is the existence of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and behaviour contingent upon the relative presence of pathogens in the local ecology. We focus specifically on one fundamental cultural variable: differences in individualistic versus collectivist values. We suggest that specific behavioural manifestations of collectivism (e.g. ethnocentrism, conformity) can inhibit the transmission of pathogens; and so we hypothesize that collectivism (compared with individualism) will more often characterize cultures in regions that have historically had higher prevalence of pathogens. Drawing on epidemiological data and the findings of worldwide cross-national surveys of individualism/collectivism, our results support this hypothesis: the regional prevalence of pathogens has a strong positive correlation with cultural indicators of collectivism and a strong negative correlation with individualism. The correlations remain significant even when controlling for potential confounding variables. These results help to explain the origin of a paradigmatic cross-cultural difference, and reveal previously undocumented consequences of pathogenic diseases on the variable nature of human societies.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2008.0094