Conformist transmission may be the evolutionary foundation for third-party punishment.
Evidence
Conformist transmission and third-party punishment may be complementary explanations for within-group similarity and between-group differences. Third-party punishment can explain the maintenance of punishment-enforced norms, such as wearing clothes, shaking hands, or saying “hello.” However, further research should seek to differentiate punishment-enforced norms from those potentially maintained b conformist transmission. Conformist transmission may provide a foundation for the evolution of third-party punishment, and together they may provide a more complete explanation of the emergence and maintenance of norms as well as the maintenance of within-group similarities and between-group differences. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 119
Categorization
- ADDENDUM: Directly supports the coercion-vulnerability angle of the Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back piece — distinctions between punishment-enforced dress norms and peer-conformity-maintained ones.
- XREF: Connects to Henrich’s later popular treatment in The Secret of Our Success, which this chapter’s model underpins. — connects to: Third-party punishment can stabilize any cultural trait within a group — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 117; Conformist transmission occurs across many social-learning species. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 1122; Conformist transmission means copying the commonest behavior more than its frequency warrants (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Conformist transmission means copying the commonest behavior more than its frequency warrants
#expands(0.82) - Conformist transmission increases behavioral adoption odds above population frequency.
#expands(0.80) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 34 - Conformist transmission skews trait frequency toward the population majority beyond unbiased copying.
#expands(0.80) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 124 - Conformist transmission means overcopying the majority beyond its base rate
#expands(0.80) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 180 - Conformist transmission occurs across many social-learning species.
#qualifies(0.75) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 1122