134. Joe Henrich — The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous

<p><strong>WEIRD</strong>: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic.</p> <p>Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselves — their attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations — over their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological differences play in the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe during the last few centuries? To answer these questions Joseph Henrich draws on anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition — laying the foundation for the modern world. Shermer and Henrich discuss:</p> <ul> <li>psychology textbooks that “now purport to be about ‘Psychology’ or ‘Social Psychology’ need to be retitled something like ‘The Cultural Psychology of Late 20^th Century Americans’,”</li> <li>Darwin’s Dictum: “How odd it is that anyone should not see that all observations must be for or against some view if it is to be of any service.” What views Henrich is writing for and against,</li> <li>evolutionary psychology and the search for human universals in the context of his thesis that WEIRD cultures are so different,</li> <li>Max Weber’s book <em>The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism</em>, and how his thesis holds up under modern studies,</li> <li>a 2×2 grid analysis of his thesis (what ab