Imitation and innovation work in tandem to support cultural learning in children and facilitate
our capacity for cumulative culture. Here we propose an integrated theoretical account of …

The relationship between religion and morality has long been hotly debated. Does religion
make us more moral? Is it necessary for morality? Do moral inclinations emerge …

British Psychology Society Textbook of the Year 2020 Why do people who are more socially
connected live longer and have better health than those who are socially isolated? Why are …

What is morality? And to what extent does it vary around the world? The theory of “morality-
as-cooperation” argues that morality consists of a collection of biological and cultural …

INTRODUCTION Music is often assumed to be a human universal, emerging from an
evolutionary adaptation specific to music and/or a by-product of adaptations for affect …

We develop a cultural evolutionary theory of the origins of prosocial religions and apply it to
resolve two puzzles in human psychology and cultural history:(1) the rise of large-scale …

The origins of religion and of complex societies represent evolutionary puzzles,,,,,,–. The
'moralizing gods' hypothesis offers a solution to both puzzles by proposing that belief in …

Most social scientists endorse some version of the claim that participating in collective rituals
promotes social cohesion. The systematic testing and evaluation of this claim, however, has …

Identity fusion is a relatively unexplored form of alignment with groups that entails a visceral
feeling of oneness with the group. This feeling is associated with unusually porous, highly …

Whether upheld as heroic or reviled as terrorism, people have been willing to lay down their
lives for the sake of their groups throughout history. Why? Previous theories of extreme self …