title: The coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations within and across domains and development.
abstract: People across highly diverse cultural contexts use both natural and supernatural explanations to explain questions of fundamental concern such as death, illness, and human origins. The present study examines the development of explanatory coexistence within and across domains of existential concern in individuals in Tanna, Vanuatu. We examined three age groups: 7- to 12-year-old children, 13- to 18-year-old adolescents, and 19- to 70-year-old adults (N = 72). Within the domain of death, biological and spontaneous explanations were most common across all ages. For illness, children showed the highest rates of explanatory coexistence, while adolescents and adults favoured biological explanations. Within the human origins domain, theistic explanations were most common across the age groups. Overall, these data show that coexistence reasoning in these domains is pervasive across cultures, yet at the same time it is deeply contextually specific, reflecting the nuanced differences in local ecologies and cultural beliefs. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Individuals across highly diverse cultural contexts use both natural and supernatural explanations to understand the events that occur in their lives. Context and cultural input play a large role in determining when and how individuals incorporate natural and supernatural explanations. The development of explanatory coexistence has primarily studied explanations for isolated domains. What does this study add? We examined explanatory coexistence in a culture with recent conversion to Christianity and formal education. The current research examines how individuals reason within and across the domains of human origins, illness, and death. Developmental differences associated with explanatory coexistence are examined.
authors: Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA.
authors: Justin T A
authors: JT
authors: Busch
authors: Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA.
authors: Rachel E
authors: RE
authors: Watson-Jones
authors: Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA.
authors: Cristine H
authors: CH
authors: Legare
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D013850:Thinking; D009514:Vanuatu / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Vanuatu; cross-cultural comparison; death concepts; folk theories; naïve biology; supernatural reasoning