The article examines whether cultural groups tend to use supernatural beliefs more to explain natural phenomena or social phenomena. Analysis of ethnographic text from 114 diverse societies reveals that supernatural explanations are more common for natural phenomena, consistent with the theory that humans tend to perceive intent and agency in the natural world. However, supernatural explanations of social phenomena were more prevalent in urbanized societies with greater social complexity and anonymity. The study highlights how people use supernatural beliefs to explain their world and how this varies across small-scale and urbanized communities.

This article challenges an earlier finding that hunter-gatherers are predominantly virilocal in residence. The author presents new tests of marital residence including early patterns in marital residence; results suggest that foragers are more multilocal than nonforagers. The author theorizes that bride service, food acquisition methods, small population size, little accumulated wealth, and low frequency of warfare among foragers could all influence the tendency toward multilocal residence.

This article examines socialization for cooperation as a function of economic production. The author theorizes that in societies where large amounts of food production labor must be accomplished quickly, there is a higher cultural value placed on cooperation.

This article draws on psychoanalytic theory and a previous study by Whiting (1964) to test the relationship between parent-child sleeping arrangements, particularly the implied social distance of fathers, and the presence of circumcision for males. Circumcision is assumed to be a social correction for mother-oriented personality in sons.

This article examines the results of a study (Gaulin 1980) on male parental certainty and subsistence type. Methodological errors are assessed and the hypotheses are retested.

This study examines socio-economic predictors of political complexity. Findings suggest that class stratification is the most significant predictor of political complexity.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on the status of women in relation to cultural, environmental, psychological, and social phenomena.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on premarital sexual relations pertaining to cultural, environmental, psychological, and social phenomena.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural male initiation rites findings pertaining to cultural, environmental, psychological, and social phenomena.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on polygyny pertaining to cultural, environmental, psychological, and social phenomena.