Hypotheses
- Broad supernatural punishments will be positively associated with the evolution of political complexity.Gray, Russell D. - Cultural macroevolution matters, 2017 - 2 Variables
Researchers sampled 106 Austronesian societies from the Pulotu database to study the way political complexity evolves in relation to religious beliefs and practices. Specifically, they attempt to test the causal theory that supernatural punishment played a causal role in the emergence of large, complex societies. They use phylogenetic models to control for Galton's Problem in testing the supernatural punishment hypothesis in an effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of utilizing cross-cultural datasets in evaluating evolutionary change in human social organization.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - Specific beliefs in moral high gods will be positively associated with the evolution of political complexity.Gray, Russell D. - Cultural macroevolution matters, 2017 - 2 Variables
Researchers sampled 106 Austronesian societies from the Pulotu database to study the way political complexity evolves in relation to religious beliefs and practices. Specifically, they attempt to test the causal theory that supernatural punishment played a causal role in the emergence of large, complex societies. They use phylogenetic models to control for Galton's Problem in testing the supernatural punishment hypothesis in an effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of utilizing cross-cultural datasets in evaluating evolutionary change in human social organization.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - Social stratification and political complexity (representing hierarchy) will be consistent with a model that has landesque capital intensive agriculture as the dependent variable.Sheehan, Oliver - Coevolution of landesque capital intensive agriculture and sociopolitical hi..., 2018 - 3 Variables
Using phylogenetic methods, this research examines the relationship between landesque capital intensive agriculture ("permanent changes to landscape, such as construction of terraces and irrigation canals"(3631)) , political complexity, and social stratification amongst 155 Austronesian-speaking societies. Researchers attempted to find an underlying causality between the above mentioned variables, which have already been shown to be cross-culturally related. Results of statistical testing are most consistent with their being no clear causal link between the tested variables. The researchers claim this demonstrates social complexity and the multifaceted nature of cultural evolution.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - Landesque capital intensive agriculture (representing general intensive agriculture) will be consistent with a model that has social stratification and political complexity (representing hierarchy) as the dependent variable.Sheehan, Oliver - Coevolution of landesque capital intensive agriculture and sociopolitical hi..., 2018 - 3 Variables
Using phylogenetic methods, this research examines the relationship between landesque capital intensive agriculture ("permanent changes to landscape, such as construction of terraces and irrigation canals"(3631)) , political complexity, and social stratification amongst 155 Austronesian-speaking societies. Researchers attempted to find an underlying causality between the above mentioned variables, which have already been shown to be cross-culturally related. Results of statistical testing are most consistent with their being no clear causal link between the tested variables. The researchers claim this demonstrates social complexity and the multifaceted nature of cultural evolution.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - Social stratification and political complexity (representing hierarchy) and landesque capital intensive agiriculture (representing general intensive agriculture) will be consistent with reciprocal relationship or with association due to another variable.Sheehan, Oliver - Coevolution of landesque capital intensive agriculture and sociopolitical hi..., 2018 - 0 Variables
Using phylogenetic methods, this research examines the relationship between landesque capital intensive agriculture ("permanent changes to landscape, such as construction of terraces and irrigation canals"(3631)) , political complexity, and social stratification amongst 155 Austronesian-speaking societies. Researchers attempted to find an underlying causality between the above mentioned variables, which have already been shown to be cross-culturally related. Results of statistical testing are most consistent with their being no clear causal link between the tested variables. The researchers claim this demonstrates social complexity and the multifaceted nature of cultural evolution.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - Moralizing high gods are most likely to be found in ecologically inhospitable and unpredictable environments, in politically complex societies, in societies near (or linguistically related to) other societies with high gods, and in societies with animal husbandry and/or agriculture.Botero, Carlos A. - The ecology of religious beliefs, 2014 - 8 Variables
Belief in moralizing high gods (MHGs) has been theorized as a response to unfavorable environments, as a way to normalize behavior. In this study, researchers test the theory by creating a model for predicting the distribution of MHGs. They run many alternative models, testing the effects of resource abundance, climate stability, and pertinent social factors on the occurrence of belief in MHGs. Based on the ten most supported models, they create an average model that predicts MHGs within cultures with “excellent” accuracy.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - A model examining the predictor variables of political complexity, social inequality, and population size, as well as the control variables of cultural isolation and year of missionary arrival, will predict the conversion time of Austronesian cultures to Christianity.Watts, Joseph - Christianity spread faster in small, politically structures societies, 2018 - 6 Variables
The present study examines 70 Austronesian cultures to test whether political hierarchy, population size, and social inequality have been influential in the conversion of populations to Christianity. Cultural isolation and year of missionary arrival are control variables. Using phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS), the researchers test the effect of the three predictor variables on conversion to Christianity and also conduct a multivariate analysis with all variables. The results do not offer support for what is expected by top-down and bottom-up theories of conversion but instead for the general dynamics of cultural transmission.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - High political complexity has coevolved with broad supernatural punishment (2, 5).Watts, Joseph - Broad supernatural punishment but not moralizing high gods precede the evolu..., 2015 - 2 Variables
The authors investigate whether moralizing high gods and, more generally, supernatural punishment precede, sustain, or follow political complexity. The cultural traits at hand are mapped onto phylogenetic trees representing the descent and relatedness of 96 Austronesian cultures.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - Belief in broad supernatural punishment facilitates and sustains high political complexity (2, 5).Watts, Joseph - Broad supernatural punishment but not moralizing high gods precede the evolu..., 2015 - 2 Variables
The authors investigate whether moralizing high gods and, more generally, supernatural punishment precede, sustain, or follow political complexity. The cultural traits at hand are mapped onto phylogenetic trees representing the descent and relatedness of 96 Austronesian cultures.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author - The presence of moralizing gods is underestimated in societies with less social complexity.Lightner, Aaron D. - Moralistic supernatural punishment is probably not associated with social co..., 2022 - 2 Variables
This paper examines the relationship between moralizing gods (gods that impose moral rules or punish those who break them) and social complexity. The authors argue that previous research, which relied on the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample's "moralizing high gods" variable as a proxy measure for the presence of moralizing gods, may have underestimated the presence of moralizing gods in societies. This is because the criteria used to define "moralizing high gods" are not relevant to whether a god is moralistic or punitive. The authors argue that this leads to a false positive association between moralizing gods and social complexity, and that ethnographic evidence suggests that moralizing gods are actually more prevalent in small-scale societies than had previously been thought. Future researchers, therefore, need to be careful about making assumptions about the moralizing gods of small scale societies based on "moralizing high gods", and find other ways to identify whether moralizing gods are present.
Related Hypotheses Cite More By Author