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Cited by 322Cultural Differences and ValuesPsychology of Social InfluenceDeath Anxiety and Social Exclusion

On the origins of cultural differences in conformity: Four tests of the pathogen prevalence hypothesis

Murray, Damian R., Trudeau, Russell, Schaller, Mark·2011·Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
DOI 10.1177/0146167210394451
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Abstract

What are the origins of cultural differences in conformity? The authors deduce the hypothesis that these cultural differences may reflect historical variability in the prevalence of disease-causing pathogens: Where pathogens were more prevalent, there were likely to emerge cultural norms promoting greater conformity. The authors conducted four tests of this hypothesis, using countries as units of analysis. Results support the pathogen prevalence hypothesis. Pathogen prevalence positively predicts cultural differences in effect sizes that emerge from behavioral conformity experiments (r=.49, n=17) and in the percentage of the population who prioritize obedience (r=.48, n=83). Pathogen prevalence also negatively predicted two indicators of tolerance for nonconformity: within-country dispositional variability (r=-.48, n=33) and the percentage of the population who are left-handed (r=-.73, n=20). Additional analyses address plausible alternative causal explanations. Discussion focuses on plausible underlying mechanisms (e.g., genetic, developmental, cognitive).

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  • Across many countries, cultural emphasis on conformity was positively related to pathogen prevalence.

    “Murray et al. (2011) showed that cultural emphasis on conformity was positively related to pathogen prevalence across many countries.”

    From Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity (2012) · cites this paper as Murray et al. 2011

  • This pathogen specific adaptation spreads to other domains of life to result in high copying and high social conformity and compliance among people living under high pathogen conditions.

    “This pathogen specific adaptation spreads to other domains of life to result in high copying and high social conformity and compliance among people living under high pathogen conditions (Chang et al. 2011; Murray et al. 2011).”

    From Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity (2012) · cites this paper as Murray et al. 2011

  • Copying existing solutions and conforming to local norms prove to be more adaptive than trial and error when dealing with infectious diseases.

    “Copying existing solutions and conforming to local norms prove to be more adaptive than trial and error when dealing with infectious diseases (Murray et al. 2011).”

    From Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity (2012) · cites this paper as Murray et al. 2011

  • Conformity pressures tend to be especially strong under conditions of high parasite-stress.

    “However, the psychology of interpersonal influence often emphasizes conformity and resistance to change instead; these conformity pressures tend to be especially strong under conditions of high parasite-stress (Murray et al. 2011).”

    From Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity (2012) · cites this paper as Murray et al. 2011

  • In countries and cultures with historically higher parasite prevalence, people are less individualistic, exhibit lower openness, are more likely to conform, and more strongly endorse binding moral values.

    “in countries and cultures characterized by historically higher prevalence of parasitic diseases, people are less individualistic, exhibit lower levels of dispositional openness to new things, are more likely to conform to majority opinion, and more strongly endorse “binding” moral values that emphasize group loyalty, obedience, and respect for authority [15], [16], [17], [18], [19].”

    From Pathogens and Politics: Further Evidence That Parasite Prevalence Predicts Authoritarianism (2013) · cites this paper as [17]

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Authors
Murray, D. R., Trudeau, R., & Schaller, M.
Affiliations
University of British Columbia (CA)
Corresponding author
Murray, Damian R.
ORCID
Venue
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2011-02-09
Volume
37
Issue
3
Pages
318-329
ISSN
  • 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-7433
DOI
10.1177/0146167210394451
OpenAlex
W2127056676
Cited by
322
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 61 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 11
FWCI
16.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychology of Social Influence
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Keywords
behavioral conformity, obedience, left-handedness, cross-cultural variation, evolutionary psychology, disease prevalence
MeSH terms
Communicable Diseases, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Culture, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Biological, Models, Psychological, Regression Analysis, Social Conformity, Prevalence

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