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The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values

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The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values and Sociality

Abstract

The parasite-stress theory of values/sociality is presented in detail. Humans have two immune systems: the classical physiological, cellular, and tissue-based defense system and the behavioral immune system. Only recently has the latter been investigated in detail; it is comprised of two parts: (a) psychology and behavior for infectious-disease avoidance and (b) psychology and behavior for managing the fitness-reducing effects of parasitic infection. In this book, our focus is on the behavioral immune system. This immune system is comprised of the adaptations of philopatry, xenophobia, and ethnocentrism, which are the basic features of assortative sociality. In subsequent chapters, we show that the components of assortative sociality/behavioral immunity increase with increasing parasite stress across regions, as predicted by the parasite-stress theory of values. The three components of assortative sociality—limited dispersal, ethnocentrism, and xenophobia—also fractionate cultures and thereby contribute to the genesis of new cultures. Thus, the parasite-stress theory includes a hypothesis about the origin of cultural or ethnic diversity. The parasite-stress theory of sociality also includes an important engine of speciation. In Chap. 13, we present empirical support for the ethnogenesis and speciation aspects of the parasite-stress theory of sociality. The early published research findings inspired by the parasite-stress theory of sociality are reviewed briefly. This theory has produced numerous new discoveries and new interpretations of previously described findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Randy Thornhill

  2. Department of Psychology, The University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Corey L. Fincher

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  1. Randy Thornhill
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  2. Corey L. Fincher
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Thornhill, R., Fincher, C.L. (2014). The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values. In: The Parasite-Stress Theory of Values and Sociality. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08040-6_3

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