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Strength in numbers: A survival strategy that helps explain social bonding and commitment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Adam Lankford
Adam Lankford*
Affiliation:
Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. [email protected]://adamlankford.com
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Abstract

We seek strength in numbers as a survival strategy, so it seems unlikely that social bonds would make us want to intentionally die. However, our deep desire to be protected may explain our attraction to exaggerated notions of intentional self-sacrifice – even though research on suicide terrorists, kamikaze pilots, and cult members suggests they were not actually dying for their group.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e208
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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