Published June 26, 2012 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

Reply to van Hoorn: Converging lines of evidence

  • 1. ROR icon University of British Columbia
  • 2. ROR icon University of California, Los Angeles
  • 3. ROR icon University of California, Davis
  • 4. ROR icon University of California, Santa Barbara
  • 5. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 6. ROR icon Texas A&M University
  • 7. ROR icon University of Nottingham
  • 8. ROR icon College of DuPage
  • 9. ROR icon Universidad de Los Andes
  • 10. ROR icon University of Zurich
  • 11. ROR icon Santa Fe Institute
  • 12. ROR icon Guilford College
  • 13. ROR icon Providence Health Care
  • 14. ROR icon Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences
  • 15. ROR icon Arizona State University
  • 16. ROR icon Washington University in St. Louis
  • 17. ROR icon California State University, Fullerton
  • 18. ROR icon University of Cambridge
  • 19. ROR icon University of Colorado Denver
  • 20. ROR icon Boise State University

Abstract

We agree with the comments by van Hoorn (1) on our critique (2): testing causal hypotheses about human behavior is a challenge (1, 3). Making progress requires specifying alternative hypotheses and then testing these hypotheses using diverse and converging lines of evidence. We have defended the hypothesis that social norms, which culturally coevolved with the institutions of large-scale societies including markets, influence economic decision-making. This hypothesis emerged from a larger set that we developed both at the outset of our project and as we went along. Our interdisciplinary team's initial list of hypotheses included the idea that experimental games might spark an innate reciprocity module that would yield little variation across populations.

Additional Information

© 2012 National Academy of Sciences. Published online before print June 18, 2012. Author contributions: J.H., R.B., R.M., M.G., J.E., and J.-C.C. designed research; J.H., R.M., M.G., J.E., M.A., A. Barr, H.C.B., A. Bolyanatz, J.-C.C., F.G.-W., E.L.G., N.H., K.H., C.L., J.Q.P., F.W.M., D.P.T., and J.Z. performed research; J.H., R.B., R.M., J.E., and A. Barr analyzed data; and J.H., R.B., R.M., M.G., P.J.R., J.E., A. Barr, C.F.C., E.F., and H.M.G. wrote the paper. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Attached Files

Published - Henrich2012p18967P_Natl_Acad_Sci_Usa.pdf

Files

Henrich2012p18967P_Natl_Acad_Sci_Usa.pdf

Files (452.4 kB)

Name Size
md5:ca526a30d5042829716742d1059b3c28
452.4 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Identifiers

PMCID
PMC3387063
Eprint ID
32811
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20120731-083311474

Dates

Created
2012-07-31
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-09
Created from EPrint's last_modified field