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Cited by 294Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationEvolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorViolence, Religion, and Philosophy

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 87 of the 87 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Hand of God, Mind of Man: Punishment and Cognition in the Evolution of Cooperation

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Johnson, Dominic, Bering, Jesse·2006·Evolutionary Psychology
DOI 10.1177/147470490600400119
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Abstract

The evolution of human cooperation remains a puzzle because cooperation persists even in conditions that rule out mainstream explanations. We present a novel solution that links two recent theories. First, Johnson & Kruger (2004) suggested that ancestral cooperation was promoted because norm violations were deterred by the threat of supernatural punishment. However, this only works if individuals attribute negative life events (or a prospective afterlife) as intentionally caused by supernatural agents. A complementary cognitive mechanism is therefore required. Recently, Bering and Shackelford (2004) suggested precisely this. The evolution of “theory of mind” and, specifically, the “intentionality system” (a cognitive system devoted to making inferences about the epistemic contents and intentions of other minds), strongly favoured: (1) the selection of human psychological traits for monitoring and controlling the flow of social information within groups; and (2) attributions of life events to supernatural agency. We argue that natural selection favoured such attributions because, in a cognitively sophisticated social environment, a fear of supernatural punishment steered individuals away from costly social transgressions resulting from unrestrained, evolutionarily ancestral, selfish interest (acts which would rapidly become known to others, and thereby incur an increased probability and severity of punishment by group members). As long as the net costs of selfish actions from real-world punishment by group members exceeded the net costs of lost opportunities from self-imposed norm abiding, then god-fearing individuals would outcompete non-believers.

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Chagnon N. A., 1997, Yanomamo
  2. Cronk L., 1994, Zygon, 4, 117
  3. Dudley M. K., 2003, A Hawaiian Nation I: Man, Gods, and Nature
  4. Harrison E., 1960, Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology
  5. Thomas W. I., 1928, The Child in America: Behaviour Problems and Programs

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Metadata

Authors
Johnson, D., & Bering, J.
Affiliations
  • Princeton University (US)
  • Queen's University Belfast (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Evolutionary Psychology
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2006-01-01
Volume
4
Issue
1
ISSN
1474-7049 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1177/147470490600400119
OpenAlex
W2177818176
Cited by
294
References
87
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 22
FWCI
55.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Evolutionary Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) (University of Oxford) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Violence, Religion, and Philosophy
Keywords
evolution of cooperation, supernatural punishment, theory of mind, agency attribution, norm violation, social transgression, religious beliefs, afterlife beliefs

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