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Cross-Cultural Variation in Altruism: Traditional Parental Manipulation and Ancestor-Descendant Conflict

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Altruism in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Part of the book series: International and Cultural Psychology ((ICUP))

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Abstract

Evolutionary theorists have applied a number of novel approaches—cultural, psychological, and genetic—to the study of altruism. In this chapter, we assume that genes play a role in altruistic behavior, that psychological factors are also involved, and that culture is as important as each of these other factors. Both genes and the environment, which includes culture and social relationships, are involved in all behavioral traits, including that of behaving altruistically. Because a number of scholars have already focused on possible genes and on psychological mechanisms, we turn to an explanation of cultural factors that seem to be aimed not only at teaching and encouraging altruism but at preventing and resolving the conflicts that make the expression of altruism difficult.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Indiana University-Purdue University, 714 Senate Ave, Indianapolis, IN, 46203, USA

    Kathryn Coe

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri-Columbia, 107 Swallow Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211-1440, USA

    Craig T. Palmer

Authors
  1. Kathryn Coe
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  2. Craig T. Palmer
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Correspondence to Kathryn Coe .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. California Institute of Integral Studies, SETI Institute, Center for SETI Research, Mountain View, 94043, California, USA

    Douglas A. Vakoch

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Coe, K., Palmer, C.T. (2013). Cross-Cultural Variation in Altruism: Traditional Parental Manipulation and Ancestor-Descendant Conflict. In: Vakoch, D. (eds) Altruism in Cross-Cultural Perspective. International and Cultural Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6952-0_3

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