Supernatural explanations across 114 societies are more common for natural than social phenomena
Nature Human Behavior • Vol/Iss. Online only • Nature • • Published In • Pages: 1-14 •
By Jackson, Joshua Conrad, Dillion, Danica, Bastian, Brock, Watts, Joseph, Buckner, William, DiMaggio, Nicholas, Gray, Kurt
Hypothesis
Social complexity is negatively associated with the supernatural explanations of natural phenomena.
Test Name | Support | Significance | Coefficient | Tail |
---|---|---|---|---|
Phylogenetically controlled two-tailed regressions | Supported | p=0.02 | b=-0.09 | UNKNOWN |
Variable Name | Variable Type | OCM Term(s) |
---|---|---|
Social Complexity | Independent | Agriculture, Land Transport, Medium Of Exchange, Occupational Specialization, Population, Records, Residence, Settlement Patterns, Social Stratification, Territorial Hierarchy, Writing |
Supernatural explanation of social phenomena | Dependent | Disasters, Religious Beliefs |