Their History
Ancestral Kinship and the Origins of Ideology
Neil Fasching & Yphtach Lelkes
British Journal of Political Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Families are not only the first institution ever created, they are also, for most people, the first institution ever encountered. The preindustrial family structure, which was a function of local ecology and cooperation needs, instilled family members with different values, such as trust in strangers and respect for elders. These values passed through generations and, as we show in three studies, impact today's political attitudes and policies. First, using surveys of second-generation immigrants representing roughly 180 ethnicities living in 32 European countries, we show that the tighter kinship structure of a person's ancestors predicts right-wing cultural attitudes. Among those who are less engaged in politics, tighter ancestral kinship structure also predicts left-wing economic attitudes. In a second study, we control for country-level differences by comparing ethnic groups within countries and find that ancestral kinship strength predicts right-wing cultural attitudes but not left-wing economic attitudes. Finally, in a third study, we examine the policy implications of ancestral kinship. We show that stronger country-level ancestral kinship strength also increases anti-LGBT policies and welfare spending. Finally, we examine whether value systems link preindustrial kinship with modern political attitudes. In total, this work indicates that our political beliefs are rooted in the value systems and familial institutions created by our forebears.
People from the U.S. and China think about their personal and collective future differently
Will Deng et al.
Memory & Cognition, January 2023, Pages 87-100
Abstract:
We investigated how people think about their personal life and their country by testing how participants in the U.S. and China think about personal and collective events in the past and future. Using a fluency task, we replicated prior research in showing that participants in the U.S. had a positivity bias toward their personal future and a negativity bias toward their country's future. In contrast, participants in China did not display a positivity or negativity bias toward either their personal or collective future. This result suggests that the valence dissociation between personal and collective future thinking is not universal. Additionally, when people considered the past in addition to the future, they displayed similar valence patterns for both temporal periods, providing evidence that people think about the past and the future similarly. We suggest political and cultural differences (such as dialectical thought) as potential explanations for the differences between countries in future thinking and memory.
Irrigation and gender roles
Per Fredriksson & Satyendra Kumar Gupta
Journal of Development Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper proposes that ancestral irrigation is associated with lower levels of contemporary female labor force participation. We test and provide support for this novel hypothesis using an exogenous measure of irrigation and cross-country data, and data from the World Values Survey, the Afrobarometer, and the Asian Barometer. To explore a possible mechanism and cultural persistence, we use the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, the European Social Survey, and the American Community Survey. The gender-based division of labor in pre-modern agriculture appears to be a possible channel between irrigation and contemporary female labor force participation rates. Evidence from second-generation immigrants suggests cultural transmission across generations, especially via males.
National Gender Equality and AR CAG Repeats Among Resident Males
Lee Ellis & Anthony Hoskin
Evolutionary Psychological Science, March 2023, Pages 61-70
Abstract:
Cellular sensitivity to testosterone is influenced by a gene located on the X chromosome called the androgen receptor gene (AR gene). Because males have just one X chromosome, whereas females have two, the functionality of the androgen receptor gene can be more precisely assessed in males. Male AR genes vary in terms of what is known as CAG repeats. The greater the number of repeats a male has, the less sensitive his cells tend to be to whatever testosterone is being produced (primarily by the testes). Studies have found substantial national variations in the average number of male AR CAG repeats. Of course, customs and laws regarding equal treatment of the sexes (gender equality) also vary a great deal between countries. The present study was undertaken to determine if national traditions of gender equality might be related to the national average number of AR CAG repeats among males. We hypothesized that the associations would be positive; i.e., the greater the number of average AR CAG repeats (and therefore the less cellular responsiveness to testosterone), the more a country's traditions and laws should favor gender equality. Even after introducing covariates, results provide substantial support for the hypothesis, thus suggesting that national variations in cultural practices might be genetically influenced.
Frontier History and Gender Norms in the United States
Samuel Bazzi et al.
NBER Working Paper, March 2023
Abstract:
This paper explores how historical gender roles become entrenched as norms over the long run. In the historical United States, gender roles on the frontier looked starkly different from those in settled areas. Male-biased sex ratios led to higher marriage rates for women and lower for men. Land abundance favored higher fertility. The demands of childcare, compounded with isolation from extended family as well as a lack of social and market infrastructure, constrained female opportunities outside the home. Frontier women were less likely to report "gainful employment," but among those who did, relatively more had high-status occupations. Together, these findings integrate contrasting narratives about frontier women -- some emphasizing their entrepreneurial independence, others their prevailing domesticity. The distinctive frontier gender roles, in turn, shaped norms over the long run. Counties with greater historical frontier exposure exhibit lower female labor force participation through the 21st century. Time use data suggests this does not come with additional leisure but rather with more household work. These gender inequalities are accompanied by weaker political participation among women. While the historical frontier may have been empowering for some women, its predominant domesticity reinforced inegalitarian gender norms over the long run.
Reciprocity or Community? Different Cultural Pathways to Cooperation and Welfare
Anna Gunnthorsdottir, Palmar Thorsteinsson & Sigurdur Olafsson
Cross-Cultural Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
We compare efficiency-enhancing cooperation and its underlying motives in Iceland and the US. The two countries are distinct along all measures of national culture known to us. They are however both developed democracies with similar GDP/capita (PPP adjusted). These similarities make it possible to hold constant aspects of culture related to wealth and institutions. In an experimental Voluntary Contribution Mechanism (VCM), we prime the participants with different social foci, emphasizing either their directly cooperating team or their wider social unit. With a team focus, cooperation levels do not differ between the two cultures, but this superficial similarity masks deep-seated differences: When the focus is on the wider social unit cooperation increases in Iceland and declines in the US. Both when the contribution levels are the same and when they differ, members of the two cultures differ in their motives to cooperate: Icelanders tend to cooperate unconditionally, and US subjects conditionally with a strong emphasis on reciprocity. Our findings indicate that different cultures can achieve similar economic and societal performance through different cultural norms and suggest that cooperation should be encouraged through culturally tailored persuasion tactics.
Animosity, Amnesia, or Admiration? Mass Opinion Around the World Toward the Former Colonizer
Andy Baker & David Cupery
British Journal of Political Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Nearly all contemporary countries were colonized at some point in their history by a foreign power, but do citizens resent their former metropoles for past colonial abuses? We exploit survey questions in which respondents were asked for their opinion of a named foreign country. Our analyses of responses from over ninety countries yield the surprising finding that today's citizens are more favourable toward their country's former colonizer - by 40 per cent of a standard deviation - than they are toward other countries. Contemporary monadic traits that make former metropoles liked around the world - especially their tendency to be democracies - as well as their relatively high volumes of trade with former colonies explain their popularity among citizens of their former colonies. We also illustrate and describe these patterns in two least-likely cases, Mexico and Zimbabwe. Our findings have important implications for understanding international soft power, an asset about which today's states care deeply.
Homophily, Setbacks, and the Dissolution of Heterogeneous Ties: Evidence from Professional Tennis
Xuege (Cathy) Lu, Shinan Wang & Letian Zhang
Sociological Science, March 2023
Abstract:
Why do people engage with similar others despite ample opportunities to interact with dissimilar others? We argue that adversity or setbacks may have a stronger deteriorative effect on ties made up of dissimilar individuals, prompting people to give up on such ties more easily, which, over the long run, results in people forming ties with similar others. We examine this argument in the context of Association of Tennis Professionals tournaments, using data on 9,669 unique doubles pairs involving 1,812 unique players from 99 countries from 2000 to 2020. We find that doubles pairs with players from different countries are more likely to dissolve after a setback, especially if those countries lack social trust and connections with one another; this reality further contributes to the individual player's increased tendency to collaborate with same-country players in the next tournament. Our study has direct implications for interventions for diversity and inclusion.