Abstract

A re-analysis of the relationship between “parasite stress” and authoritarianism

Highlights

  • This paper is a commentary on Murray et al (2013) where, alongside other findings, data from two cross-cultural samples, supporting a positive relationship between pathogen prevalence and authoritarianism are presented

  • This commentary is not a theoretical critique. Nor is it a methodological critique of work on pathogen stress (e.g., Currie and Mace, 2012; Pollet, 2013; Pollet et al, in press). The goal of this brief commentary is to re-analyze the data with an alternative technique to examine whether the original conclusions are upheld, the claim that indices of pathogen prevalence are positively related to authoritarianism

  • Conditional inference trees are part of “machine learning,” a set of algorithms commonly used for data mining (Hastie et al, 2009 for introduction to field)

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Summary

Introduction

A commentary on Pathogens and politics: further evidence that parasite prevalence predicts authoritarianism by Murray, D. This paper is a commentary on Murray et al (2013) where, alongside other findings, data from two cross-cultural samples (nations and cultures), supporting a positive relationship between pathogen prevalence and authoritarianism are presented. The goal of this brief commentary is to re-analyze the data with an alternative technique to examine whether the original conclusions are upheld, the claim that indices of pathogen prevalence are positively related to authoritarianism.

Results
Conclusion

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