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In-group loyalty or out-group avoidance? Isolating the links between pathogens and in-group assortative sociality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2012

Elizabeth Cashdan
Elizabeth Cashdan
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0060. ecashdan@gmail.comhttp://www.anthro.utah.edu/faculty/elizabeth-cashdan.html
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Abstract

The target article gives two explanations for the correlation between pathogens, family ties, and religiosity: one highlights the benefits of xenophobic attitudes for reducing pathogen exposure, the other highlights the benefits of ethnic loyalty for mitigating the costs when a person falls ill. Preliminary data from traditional societies provide some support for the former explanation but not the latter.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 82
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

Cashdan, E. (2001b) Ethnocentrism and xenophobia: A cross-cultural study. Current Anthropology 42(5):760–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cashdan, E. & Steele, M. (2010) Do pathogens and other risks promote ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and ethnic diversity? Unpublished paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, New Orleans. November 17–21, 2010.Google Scholar