title: The Evolutionary Basis of Honor Cultures.
abstract: Around the globe, people fight for their honor, even if it means sacrificing their lives. This is puzzling from an evolutionary perspective, and little is known about the conditions under which honor cultures evolve. We implemented an agent-based model of honor, and our simulations showed that the reliability of institutions and toughness of the environment are crucial conditions for the evolution of honor cultures. Honor cultures survive when the effectiveness of the authorities is low, even in very tough environments. Moreover, the results show that honor cultures and aggressive cultures are mutually dependent in what resembles a predator-prey relationship described in the renowned Lotka-Volterra model. Both cultures are eliminated when institutions are reliable. These results have implications for understanding conflict throughout the world, where Western-based strategies are exported, often unsuccessfully, to contexts of weak institutional authority wherein honor-based strategies have been critical for survival.
authors.affiliation: The Robert B. Zajonc Institute for Social Studies, University of Warsaw Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Maryland andrzejn232@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Michele J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gelfand
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, SWPS Warsaw University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Borkowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois.
authors.forename: Dov
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Science of Networks in Communities Lab, Northwestern University.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hernandez
mesh_terms: D000378:Agonistic Behavior; D000818:Animals; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D006608:Hierarchy, Social; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009014:Morals; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D012307:Risk Factors; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: aggressive behavior; cross-cultural differences; honor