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The influence of stories including myths of origin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2025

Keith Oatley Open the ORCID record for Keith Oatley [Opens in a new window]  and
Si Jia Wu Open the ORCID record for Si Jia Wu [Opens in a new window]
Keith Oatley*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada [email protected] [email protected] https://sites.google.com/site/keithoatleyhomesite https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=QzARj0sAAAAJ&hl=en
Si Jia Wu
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada [email protected] [email protected] https://sites.google.com/site/keithoatleyhomesite https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=QzARj0sAAAAJ&hl=en
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Sijilmassi et al. argue that myths serve to gain coalitional support by detailing shared histories of ancestry and cooperation. They overlook the emotional influences of stories, which include myths of human origin. We suggest that influential myths do not promote cooperation principally by signaling common ancestry, but by prompting human emotions of interdependence and connection.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 47 , 2024 , e186
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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