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Considering selection pressures for identity fusion and self-sacrifice in small-scale societies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Polly Wiessner
Polly Wiessner*
Affiliation:
School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281. [email protected]://shesc.asu.edu/people/pauline-wiessner
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Abstract

Whitehouse's view that our ultrasocial species evolved in small, warring bands is questioned, and alternative social selection pressures for the evolution of identity fusion and self-sacrifice in small-scale societies are proposed. Short durations of states of fusion allow for re-evaluation of risks; the consolidation of episodic memories into collective oral traditions elicits cooperation. Dysmorphic memories may be more powerful in generating identity fusion when followed by euphoric ones, as in “rites of torture” in male initiations.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e220
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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