Luke J Matthews
Biographic Data
| ID | 75025 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Luke J Matthews |
| GIVEN NAMES | Luke J |
| FAMILY NAME | Matthews |
| SIGNATURE | MATTHEWS L J |
| AFFILIATIONS | RAND Corporation |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4382-1007 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 32 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Assessing the dynamics of PrEP adoption in a national-scale physician network
The segregation of physician networks providing care to black and white patients with heart disease: Concepts, measures, and empirical evaluation
Collective action by community groups: Solutions for climate change or different players in the same game
Community groups are taking initiatives to adapt to a changing climate. These organizations differ from businesses and governments by being non-profit, often informal, resource limited, and reliant on volunteer labor. How these organizations facilitate collective action is not well known, especially since they do not necessarily solve common pool resource governance, but rather improve common pool resources through collective action. In fact, at …
Magic, Religion, and Science: Secularization Trends and Continued Coexistence
While multiple studies have applied cultural evolutionary perspectives to the study of religion, few studies have examined the cultural evolutionary dynamics of a more secretive but equally ubiquitous form of supernatural belief: magic. We conducted two studies, an American nationally representative survey and a comparative phylogenetic analysis of religious traditions, to test three hypothesized cultural evolutionary drivers for beliefs in magic…
Mapping White Identity Terrorism and Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism: A Social Network Analysis of Online Activity
The authors reviewed literature on White identity terrorism and racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE) and analyzed social media data from six platforms that host extremist content. They developed a network map that evaluates REMVE network construction, connectivity, geographic location, and proclivity to violence and found that users in the United States are overwhelmingly responsible for REMVE discourse online.
Thinking Outside the Altruistic Box: Why We Need Other Evolutionary Theories to Explain Why Religion is Religious
Two theories currently share prominence as explanations for the near universality of organized religion. Theory 1, the costly signalling hypothesis and its extensions have not to date generated predictions about the central question of why religion is religious; that is, why does religion invoke the gods? Theory 2, supernatural punishment, predicts that religion would be religious, but it requires group selection to stabilize its proposed evoluti…
Shared cultural ancestry predicts the global diffusion of democracy
Understanding global variation in democratic outcomes is critical to efforts to promote and sustain democracy today. Here, we use data on the democratic status of 221 modern and historical nations stretching back up to 200 years to show that, particularly over the last 50 years, nations with shared linguistic and, more recently, religious ancestry have more similar democratic outcomes. We also find evidence that for most of the last 50 years the …
Belief correlations with parental vaccine hesitancy: Results from a national survey
We conducted a nationally representative survey of parents' beliefs and self-reported behaviors regarding childhood vaccinations. Using Bayesian selection among multivariate models, we found that beliefs, even those without any vaccine or health content, predicted vaccine-hesitant behaviors better than demographics, social network effects, or scientific reasoning. The multivariate structure of beliefs combined many types of ideation that included…
Women-Centered Rituals and Levels of Domestic Violence: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Ritual as a Signaling and Solidarity-Building Strategy
Prior research indicates that ritual can be a source of social solidarity by signaling trustworthiness and group commitment. A separate line of research expects domestic violence against women to be more common in societies with post-marital residence at the husband’s birthplace (i.e. patrilocality). Thus, we hypothesized that when wives are able to construct strong bonds with the female members of their communities through solidarity-building ri…
Hostile Social Manipulation: Present Realities and Emerging Trends
The practitioners of hostile social manipulation employ social media, sophisticated forgeries, cyberbullying and harassment, distribution of rumors and conspiracy theories, and other tools to cause damage to their target state. This report represents an effort to better define and understand the challenge by focusing on the activities of the two leading authors of such techniques — Russia and China
The Emerging Risk of Virtual Societal Warfare: Social Manipulation in a Changing Information Environment
The evolution of advanced information environments is rapidly creating a new category of possible cyberaggression that involves efforts to manipulate or disrupt the information foundations of the effective functioning of economic and social systems. RAND researchers are calling this growing threat virtual societal warfare in an analysis of its characteristics and implications for the future
A Moonshot for Extraterrestrial Communication
The cultural foundations of modern democracies
Criteria for good Hilbert problems or other potentially fruitful research directions
This issue on Hilbert problems for the scientific study of religion includes a wonderful diversity of views and insights that I, for one, found to be meaty food for thought. Prior to reading the cu
Mutualistic cooperation – why religion is common but saints are rare
Cultural inheritance or cultural diffusion of religious violence? A quantitative case study of the Radical Reformation
Religion throughout the historical record is consistently associated with large-scale cooperative activities. These cooperative activities sometimes involve coordinated acts of violence, particularly against religious out-groups. Using phylogenetic and social network analyses, we investigated whether religious violence is inherited from parent congregations or is acquired from contemporaneous purveyors of violent ideologies. We examined these que…
Variations in sexual behavior among capuchin monkeys function for conspecific mate recognition: A phylogenetic analysis and a new hypothesis for female proceptivity in tufted capuchins
Researchers of capuchin monkeys have noted stereotyped body postures, facial expressions, and vocalizations that accompany copulations in this genus. Notable variations in these sexual behaviors are observed across capuchin species. Although several hypotheses exist to explain variation in the duration and vigor of sexual behaviors across species, there is no proposed explanation for variation in the forms of these behaviors. I hypothesized that …
Anointing variation across wild capuchin populations: A review of material preferences, bout frequency and anointing sociality in Cebus and Sapajus
The frequency of anointing bouts and the materials used for self‐ and social anointing vary across capuchin species in captivity, but there is little published data on capuchin anointing in the wild. Here we present previously unpublished data on anointing behaviors from capuchin monkey populations at ten different field sites and incorporate these data into a review of the anointing literature for captive and wild capuchins. Using a comparative …
Evolutionary disequilibrium and activity period in primates: A bayesian phylogenetic approach
Activity period plays a central role in studies of primate origins and adaptations, yet fundamental questions remain concerning the evolutionary history of primate activity period. Lemurs are of particular interest because they display marked variation in activity period, with some species exhibiting completely nocturnal or diurnal lifestyles, and others distributing activity throughout the 24‐h cycle (i.e., cathemerality). Some lines of evidence…
The Recognition Signal Hypothesis for the Adaptive Evolution of Religion: A Phylogenetic Test with Christian Denominations
Novelty‐seeking DRD4 polymorphisms are associated with human migration distance out‐of‐Africa after controlling for neutral population gene structure
Numerous lines of evidence suggest that Homo sapiens evolved as a distinct species in Africa by 150,000 years before the present (BP) and began major migrations out‐of‐Africa ∼50,000 BP. By 20,000 BP, our species had effectively colonized the entire Old World, and by 12,000 BP H. sapiens had a global distribution. We propose that this rapid migration into new habitats selected for individuals with low reactivity to novel stressors. Certain dopami…
The 10kTrees website: A new online resource for primate phylogeny
The comparative method plays a central role in efforts to uncover the adaptive basis for primate behaviors, morphological traits, and cognitive abilities.1-4 The comparative method has been used, for example, to infer that living in a larger group selects for a larger neocortex,5, 6 that primate territoriality favors a longer day range relative to home range size,7 and that sperm competition can account for the evolution of primate testes size.8,…
Can Traditions Emerge from the Interaction of Stimulus Enhancement and Reinforcement Learning? An Experimental Model
The study of social learning in captivity and behavioral traditions in the wild are two burgeoning areas of research, but few empirical studies have tested how learning mechanisms produce emergent patterns of tradition. Studies have examined how social learning mechanisms that are cognitively complex and possessed by few species, such as imitation, result in traditional patterns, yet traditional patterns are also exhibited by species that may not…
Activity Patterns, Home Range Size, and Intergroup Encounters in Cebus albifrons Support Existing Models of Capuchin Socioecology
Taxon combinations, parsimony analysis (Paup*), and the taxonomy of the yellow‐tailed woolly monkey, Lagothrix flavicauda
The classifications of primates, in general, and platyrrhine primates, in particular, have been greatly revised subsequent to the rationale for taxonomic decisions shifting from one rooted in the biological species concept to one rooted solely in phylogenetic affiliations. Given the phylogenetic justification provided for revised taxonomies, the scientific validity of taxonomic distinctions can be rightly judged by the robusticity of the phylogen…
Can Traditions Emerge from the Interaction of Stimulus Enhancement and Reinforcement Learning? An Experimental Model
The study of social learning in captivity and behavioral traditions in the wild are two burgeoning areas of research, but few empirical studies have tested how learning mechanisms produce emergent patterns of tradition. Studies have examined how social learning mechanisms that are cognitively complex and possessed by few species, such as imitation, result in traditional patterns, yet traditional patterns are also exhibited by species that may not…
Belief correlations with parental vaccine hesitancy: Results from a national survey
We conducted a nationally representative survey of parents' beliefs and self-reported behaviors regarding childhood vaccinations. Using Bayesian selection among multivariate models, we found that beliefs, even those without any vaccine or health content, predicted vaccine-hesitant behaviors better than demographics, social network effects, or scientific reasoning. The multivariate structure of beliefs combined many types of ideation that included…
The cultural foundations of modern democracies
Evolutionary disequilibrium and activity period in primates: A bayesian phylogenetic approach
Activity period plays a central role in studies of primate origins and adaptations, yet fundamental questions remain concerning the evolutionary history of primate activity period. Lemurs are of particular interest because they display marked variation in activity period, with some species exhibiting completely nocturnal or diurnal lifestyles, and others distributing activity throughout the 24‐h cycle (i.e., cathemerality). Some lines of evidence…
The Recognition Signal Hypothesis for the Adaptive Evolution of Religion: A Phylogenetic Test with Christian Denominations
Taxon combinations, parsimony analysis (Paup*), and the taxonomy of the yellow‐tailed woolly monkey, Lagothrix flavicauda
The classifications of primates, in general, and platyrrhine primates, in particular, have been greatly revised subsequent to the rationale for taxonomic decisions shifting from one rooted in the biological species concept to one rooted solely in phylogenetic affiliations. Given the phylogenetic justification provided for revised taxonomies, the scientific validity of taxonomic distinctions can be rightly judged by the robusticity of the phylogen…
The segregation of physician networks providing care to black and white patients with heart disease: Concepts, measures, and empirical evaluation
Magic, Religion, and Science: Secularization Trends and Continued Coexistence
While multiple studies have applied cultural evolutionary perspectives to the study of religion, few studies have examined the cultural evolutionary dynamics of a more secretive but equally ubiquitous form of supernatural belief: magic. We conducted two studies, an American nationally representative survey and a comparative phylogenetic analysis of religious traditions, to test three hypothesized cultural evolutionary drivers for beliefs in magic…
Shared cultural ancestry predicts the global diffusion of democracy
Understanding global variation in democratic outcomes is critical to efforts to promote and sustain democracy today. Here, we use data on the democratic status of 221 modern and historical nations stretching back up to 200 years to show that, particularly over the last 50 years, nations with shared linguistic and, more recently, religious ancestry have more similar democratic outcomes. We also find evidence that for most of the last 50 years the …
Activity Patterns, Home Range Size, and Intergroup Encounters in Cebus albifrons Support Existing Models of Capuchin Socioecology
Taxon combinations, parsimony analysis (Paup*), and the taxonomy of the yellow‐tailed woolly monkey, Lagothrix flavicauda
The classifications of primates, in general, and platyrrhine primates, in particular, have been greatly revised subsequent to the rationale for taxonomic decisions shifting from one rooted in the biological species concept to one rooted solely in phylogenetic affiliations. Given the phylogenetic justification provided for revised taxonomies, the scientific validity of taxonomic distinctions can be rightly judged by the robusticity of the phylogen…
Activity Patterns, Home Range Size, and Intergroup Encounters in Cebus albifrons Support Existing Models of Capuchin Socioecology
The 10kTrees website: A new online resource for primate phylogeny
The comparative method plays a central role in efforts to uncover the adaptive basis for primate behaviors, morphological traits, and cognitive abilities.1-4 The comparative method has been used, for example, to infer that living in a larger group selects for a larger neocortex,5, 6 that primate territoriality favors a longer day range relative to home range size,7 and that sperm competition can account for the evolution of primate testes size.8,…
Can Traditions Emerge from the Interaction of Stimulus Enhancement and Reinforcement Learning? An Experimental Model
The study of social learning in captivity and behavioral traditions in the wild are two burgeoning areas of research, but few empirical studies have tested how learning mechanisms produce emergent patterns of tradition. Studies have examined how social learning mechanisms that are cognitively complex and possessed by few species, such as imitation, result in traditional patterns, yet traditional patterns are also exhibited by species that may not…
Novelty‐seeking DRD4 polymorphisms are associated with human migration distance out‐of‐Africa after controlling for neutral population gene structure
Numerous lines of evidence suggest that Homo sapiens evolved as a distinct species in Africa by 150,000 years before the present (BP) and began major migrations out‐of‐Africa ∼50,000 BP. By 20,000 BP, our species had effectively colonized the entire Old World, and by 12,000 BP H. sapiens had a global distribution. We propose that this rapid migration into new habitats selected for individuals with low reactivity to novel stressors. Certain dopami…
Variations in sexual behavior among capuchin monkeys function for conspecific mate recognition: A phylogenetic analysis and a new hypothesis for female proceptivity in tufted capuchins
Researchers of capuchin monkeys have noted stereotyped body postures, facial expressions, and vocalizations that accompany copulations in this genus. Notable variations in these sexual behaviors are observed across capuchin species. Although several hypotheses exist to explain variation in the duration and vigor of sexual behaviors across species, there is no proposed explanation for variation in the forms of these behaviors. I hypothesized that …
Anointing variation across wild capuchin populations: A review of material preferences, bout frequency and anointing sociality in Cebus and Sapajus
The frequency of anointing bouts and the materials used for self‐ and social anointing vary across capuchin species in captivity, but there is little published data on capuchin anointing in the wild. Here we present previously unpublished data on anointing behaviors from capuchin monkey populations at ten different field sites and incorporate these data into a review of the anointing literature for captive and wild capuchins. Using a comparative …
Evolutionary disequilibrium and activity period in primates: A bayesian phylogenetic approach
Activity period plays a central role in studies of primate origins and adaptations, yet fundamental questions remain concerning the evolutionary history of primate activity period. Lemurs are of particular interest because they display marked variation in activity period, with some species exhibiting completely nocturnal or diurnal lifestyles, and others distributing activity throughout the 24‐h cycle (i.e., cathemerality). Some lines of evidence…
The Recognition Signal Hypothesis for the Adaptive Evolution of Religion: A Phylogenetic Test with Christian Denominations
Cultural inheritance or cultural diffusion of religious violence? A quantitative case study of the Radical Reformation
Religion throughout the historical record is consistently associated with large-scale cooperative activities. These cooperative activities sometimes involve coordinated acts of violence, particularly against religious out-groups. Using phylogenetic and social network analyses, we investigated whether religious violence is inherited from parent congregations or is acquired from contemporaneous purveyors of violent ideologies. We examined these que…
Criteria for good Hilbert problems or other potentially fruitful research directions
This issue on Hilbert problems for the scientific study of religion includes a wonderful diversity of views and insights that I, for one, found to be meaty food for thought. Prior to reading the cu
Mutualistic cooperation – why religion is common but saints are rare
Hostile Social Manipulation: Present Realities and Emerging Trends
The practitioners of hostile social manipulation employ social media, sophisticated forgeries, cyberbullying and harassment, distribution of rumors and conspiracy theories, and other tools to cause damage to their target state. This report represents an effort to better define and understand the challenge by focusing on the activities of the two leading authors of such techniques — Russia and China
The Emerging Risk of Virtual Societal Warfare: Social Manipulation in a Changing Information Environment
The evolution of advanced information environments is rapidly creating a new category of possible cyberaggression that involves efforts to manipulate or disrupt the information foundations of the effective functioning of economic and social systems. RAND researchers are calling this growing threat virtual societal warfare in an analysis of its characteristics and implications for the future
A Moonshot for Extraterrestrial Communication
The cultural foundations of modern democracies
Women-Centered Rituals and Levels of Domestic Violence: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Ritual as a Signaling and Solidarity-Building Strategy
Prior research indicates that ritual can be a source of social solidarity by signaling trustworthiness and group commitment. A separate line of research expects domestic violence against women to be more common in societies with post-marital residence at the husband’s birthplace (i.e. patrilocality). Thus, we hypothesized that when wives are able to construct strong bonds with the female members of their communities through solidarity-building ri…
Mapping White Identity Terrorism and Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism: A Social Network Analysis of Online Activity
The authors reviewed literature on White identity terrorism and racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism (REMVE) and analyzed social media data from six platforms that host extremist content. They developed a network map that evaluates REMVE network construction, connectivity, geographic location, and proclivity to violence and found that users in the United States are overwhelmingly responsible for REMVE discourse online.
Thinking Outside the Altruistic Box: Why We Need Other Evolutionary Theories to Explain Why Religion is Religious
Two theories currently share prominence as explanations for the near universality of organized religion. Theory 1, the costly signalling hypothesis and its extensions have not to date generated predictions about the central question of why religion is religious; that is, why does religion invoke the gods? Theory 2, supernatural punishment, predicts that religion would be religious, but it requires group selection to stabilize its proposed evoluti…
Shared cultural ancestry predicts the global diffusion of democracy
Understanding global variation in democratic outcomes is critical to efforts to promote and sustain democracy today. Here, we use data on the democratic status of 221 modern and historical nations stretching back up to 200 years to show that, particularly over the last 50 years, nations with shared linguistic and, more recently, religious ancestry have more similar democratic outcomes. We also find evidence that for most of the last 50 years the …
Belief correlations with parental vaccine hesitancy: Results from a national survey
We conducted a nationally representative survey of parents' beliefs and self-reported behaviors regarding childhood vaccinations. Using Bayesian selection among multivariate models, we found that beliefs, even those without any vaccine or health content, predicted vaccine-hesitant behaviors better than demographics, social network effects, or scientific reasoning. The multivariate structure of beliefs combined many types of ideation that included…
Collective action by community groups: Solutions for climate change or different players in the same game
Community groups are taking initiatives to adapt to a changing climate. These organizations differ from businesses and governments by being non-profit, often informal, resource limited, and reliant on volunteer labor. How these organizations facilitate collective action is not well known, especially since they do not necessarily solve common pool resource governance, but rather improve common pool resources through collective action. In fact, at …
Magic, Religion, and Science: Secularization Trends and Continued Coexistence
While multiple studies have applied cultural evolutionary perspectives to the study of religion, few studies have examined the cultural evolutionary dynamics of a more secretive but equally ubiquitous form of supernatural belief: magic. We conducted two studies, an American nationally representative survey and a comparative phylogenetic analysis of religious traditions, to test three hypothesized cultural evolutionary drivers for beliefs in magic…
Assessing the dynamics of PrEP adoption in a national-scale physician network
The segregation of physician networks providing care to black and white patients with heart disease: Concepts, measures, and empirical evaluation
Psychology (13 works) · Political science (10 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Biology (8 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation (7 works) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (7 works) · Ecology (6 works) · Evolutionary biology (6 works)