Where Do Cultures Come From?

Bibliographic Data

ID24314931
AuthorsSatoshi Kanazawa (London School of Economics and Political Science)
Year2006
Volume40
Issue2
Pages152-176
Publication date2006-05-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCross-Cultural Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1069-3971 • E-ISSN: 1552-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1069397105283404
OpenAlexW2148161712
LanguageEN
References cited46

This article seeks to make three separate contributions to the anthropological study of culture. Metatheoretically, it presents an evolutionary psychological perspective within which to study culture and generate specific theories of the origins, constancy, and variations in human culture. Theoretically, it provides a concrete evolutionary psychological theory of son-daughter preference: why people in some societies prefer sons to daughters and practice female infanticide whereas those in others prefer daughters to sons and practice male infanticide (killingof boys). Empirically, it tests and supports an evolutionary psychological theory of son-daughter preference with large, international quantitative data both at the micro (individual) and macro (societal) levels. The empirical analyses show that wealthier individuals from 46 nations prefer sons to daughters, whereas poorer individuals prefer daughters to sons. They also suggest that wealthier societies have cultural preference for sons, whereas poorer societies have cultural preference for daughters.

cross-cultural variation · cultural origins · Evolutionary psychology · female infanticide · gender preference · son preference · Cultural Differences and Values · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior