Shared beliefs can sustain group boundaries despite environmental and technological similarity.

Evidence

The Amish farmers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for example, distinguish themselves as a cultural group in a multiplicity of ways, including their religion, dress, child-rearing strategies, and agricultural practices, despite their proximity to and frequent interaction with their non-Amish neighbors. These Amish differ from their neighbors because they have evolved different sets of ideas, beliefs, and values; they are identifiable as a group because these ideas cause them to behave differently from their non-Amish neighbors even though they live in the same place with access to the same technology. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 9

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Human group identity, not just environmental adaptation, sustains socialized individuals.; Localized communication clusters sustain cultural diversity of beliefs within a larger society — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1910; A group’s shared belief in its own power predicts its persistence and achievements. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2825 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Societies sharing identical technology and environment can diverge sharply in social organization. #corroborates (0.88) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 107
• Status groups share beliefs that both cohere members and divide outsiders #exemplifies (0.87) — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 95
• Human group identity, not just environmental adaptation, sustains socialized individuals. #corroborates (0.85)
• Social influence spreads beliefs locally, producing stable subcultural clusters instead of homogenization #exemplifies (0.82) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1910
• A group’s shared belief in its own power predicts its persistence and achievements. #expands (0.80) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2825
• The ritual view of communication maintains society in time through shared beliefs #corroborates (0.80) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 161
• Localized communication clusters sustain cultural diversity of beliefs within a larger society #expands (0.78) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1910
• Group cohesion grows from networked personal bonds, not mere shared categories #complicates (0.75) — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor, 52