Supernatural punishment and individual social compliance across cultures
Religion, Brain & Behavior • Vol/Iss. 1 (2) • Routledge • • Published In • Pages: 119-134 •
By Bourrat, Pierrick , Atkinson, Quentin D. , Dunbar, Robin I.M.
Hypothesis
Individual cooperation will be positively correlated with societal belief in invisible supernatural agents (High gods, theories of spirit aggression, and warning).
Note
“Warning” was the only supernatural agent to be found significant and negatively correlated with an individual cooperation measure (prosocial education: p=.009, b= -.37). However it did not stay significant after controlling for region, religion, and contact with other societies.
| Test Name | Support | Significance | Coefficient | Tail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kendall's tau | Not supported | p> .1 | UNKNOWN | Two-tailed |
| Variable Name | Variable Type | OCM Term(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Individual cooperation | Dependent | Ethics, Ingroup Antagonisms, Social Personality, Transmission Of Cultural Norms |
| Fear of punishment from high god | Independent | Social Control, Spirits And Gods |