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“WEIRD” societies still value (even needless) self-control and self-sacrifice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2023

Christopher Y. Olivola Open the ORCID record for Christopher Y. Olivola [Opens in a new window]
Christopher Y. Olivola*
Affiliation:
Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. olivola@cmu.edu; https://sites.google.com/site/chrisolivola/ Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Abstract

Some aspects of moral disciplining theory (MDT) – the association between cooperation and self-control; the notion that people and societies value sacrifice and costly prosocial behaviors – are well supported. However, other aspects of MDT – the association between religion/religiosity and cooperation; the notion that sacrifice and costly prosocial behaviors are no longer valued in “western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic” (WEIRD) societies – are inconsistent with existing evidence.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e312
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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