The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values and Sociality: Infectious Disease, History and Human Values Worldwide

Author:   Randy Thornhill ,  Corey L. Fincher
Publisher:   Springer International Publishing AG
Edition:   Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2014
ISBN:  

9783319356594


Pages:   449
Publication Date:   10 September 2016
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values and Sociality: Infectious Disease, History and Human Values Worldwide


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Overview

This book develops and tests an ecological and evolutionary theory of the causes of human values—the core beliefs that guide people’s cognition and behavior—and their variation across time and space around the world. We call this theory the parasite-stress theory of values or the parasite-stress theory of sociality. The evidence we present in our book indicates that both a wide span of human affairs and major aspects of human cultural diversity can be understood in light of variable parasite (infectious disease) stress and the range of value systems evoked by variable parasite stress. The same evidence supports the hypothesis that people have psychological adaptations that function to adopt values dependent upon local infectious-disease adversity. The authors have identified key variables, variation in infectious disease adversity and in the core values it evokes, for understanding these topics and in novel and encompassing ways. Although the human species is the focus in the book, evidence presented in the book shows that the parasite-stress theory of sociality informs other topics in ecology and evolutionary biology such as variable family organization and speciation processes and biological diversity in general in non-human animals.

Full Product Details

Author:   Randy Thornhill ,  Corey L. Fincher
Publisher:   Springer International Publishing AG
Imprint:   Springer International Publishing AG
Edition:   Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2014
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.718kg
ISBN:  

9783319356594


ISBN 10:   3319356593
Pages:   449
Publication Date:   10 September 2016
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

The book might appeal to academics looking for an introduction to this research program, for example, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, or political scientists concerned with cultural differences and seeking an alternative perspective. ... The volume has much to offer for fans of consilience. ... The book also has much to offer for those skeptical of parasite stress having such encompassing effects on culture as well as for those skeptical of the psychological processes claimed to cause the cultural variation. (Florian van Leeuwen, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 91 (2), June, 2016)


Author Information

Randy Thornhill is Distinguished Professor of Biology at The University of New Mexico. Dr. Thornhill's 150+ published papers and four books on the evolutionary and ecological aspects of sociality and behavior have been cited over 17,000 times. He served as President of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society from 2011 through 2013. Corey L. Fincher is an Assistant Professor in the University of Warwick, U.K.'s Department of Psychology. The parasite-stress model emerged as a result of his and Thornhill's research, and the two researchers' publications since 2005 established this theory of sociality.

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