Using data from 97 Austronesian-speaking societies, this paper asks two research questions: 1) have religious and political authority co-evolved and 2) have the two institutions tended to become differentiated or unified? By applying phylogenetic methods, the findings show that in Austronesian societies, religious and political authorities are mutually interdependent; however, there is insufficient evidence to support any differentiation or unification of the two over time.

In this study, the authors inspect the relationship between religion, morality, and cooperation by examining the extent to which people associate their deities with moral concern. Using data from 2,228 individuals in 15 different field sites, they find that on average, people tend to ascribe at least some moral concern to their deities, and this effect is stable even after controlling for the influence of explicitly moralistic deities that these societies also worship. The authors also find that ratings of moral concern are not necessarily very high, even for deities that are typically considered to be moralistic, and that there is individual-level variation in the degree of moral concern attributed to deities. In addition, there is an individual-level correlation between how morally interested two selected deities are conceived to be and that being male or more educated decreases the likelihood of associating deities with moral concern. These findings challenge the longstanding belief that belief in moralistic deities is unique to certain societies or religions and instead suggest that the association between deities and moral concern is more widespread and variable, and suggest that the moral character of gods may be tied to cooperation within societies.

This article used sub-national, historical and cross-country data to examine if exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) could be a factor in the formation of individualism and collectivism. The study found support, across all data sets, that increased exposure to UV-R is associated to more collectivism within a culture. The authors theorized that UV-R exposure increases the likelihood of eye disease causing higher rates of blindness. With increased levels of blindness, the more emphasis there will be on close family relations and/or increased uncertainty avoidance from out-groups leading to more collectivism in a culture.

Using data on 25 ethnolinguistic groups in the Austronesian language family, this study asks: does cooperation in games vary with socio-ecological differences across cultural groups? The authors suggest that cultural groups that cooperate in subsistence, tend to have intergroup conflict and less intragroup conflict, and are less socially stratified are more likely to play cooperative games compared to other groups. While the results support the first three hypotheses, there is insufficient data to support the fourth. The authors conclude that games serve as training ground for group norms and values.

This article examines child-training through children's display of individualistic orientations (self-reliance, achievement, and general independence) and/or group orientations (responsibility, nurturance, and obedience). Five sub-categories measure whether each orientation is linked to a child's experience of general pressure or performance anxiety/conflict. Together, these orientations their sub-categories total 30 variables that were correlated; differences in gender were also examined. Results indicate that child-rearing pressure to act one way predicts pressure to act in other ways, and this pattern of interaction between variables did not vary by gender.

The researcher looks for empirical evidence of natural selection as an explanation for worldwide variation in novelty-seeking behavior. Examining the relationship between variability in frequency of the DRD4 exon III 7-repeat allele variant (a variant theorized to stifle dopamine reception and thus encourage compensatory novelty-seeking behavior) and migratory distance from prehistoric humans' origin point in East Africa yields a positive correlation. After controlling for various biogeographic indicators, the researcher theorizes that presence of the DRD4 exon III 7-repeat variant provided an exploratory urge and evolutionary advantage to hunter-gatherers and pastoralists who migrated into unfamiliar environments.

This article presents the results of economic behavior experiments conducted on members of 15 small scale societies. Although three different economic experiments were conducted, findings focus on the results of the "Ultimatum Game." The authors found that no society adhered to behavior predicted by the "selfishness axiom" which suggests that individuals will behave in a way that maximizes their own gain. Authors also discuss possible predictors of behavioral variation within and between groups.

The study aimed to explore the ideal-parent beliefs among mothers and fathers from 37 countries to determine whether the definition of an ideal parent varied across countries and social classes. Open-ended questions were used to gather data, and Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to identify parenting culture zones and extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results revealed specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones, with subtle differences between the English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasizing "being caring," while French-speaking parents valued "listening" or being "present." Additionally, ideal-parent beliefs varied by education levels within culture zones, suggesting that social class differences should not be dismissed in parenting intervention research.

Languages and weaving methods are passed down generation to generation, allowing both of them to have relatively clear phylogenies. These researchers use a Bayesian approach with Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to uncover similar but independent phylogenies for Kra-Dai languages and weaving technologies. Evolutionary differences between the two are most likely due to different rates of change: smooth change (language) and periods of burst and stasis (weaving). This study found that language phylogenies were not efficient at predicting phylogenies of technologies.

This study reanalyzes data from a previous study on variations in children's play from the Six Cultures project. Data described four types of play: role play, fantasy play, imaginative play, and creative-constructive play. Results shed light on the interplay between cultural, historial, economic and material conditions on the type and amount of play, as well as gender differences in play.