Galton's Problem Research Articles

Europe Through the Looking-Glass: Comparative and Multi-Level Perspectives

The two main divisions in the social sciences, cross-national comparison and international relations theory, must reconsider their methodologies and paradigms when studying transnationalization and, in particular, European integration. This article reviews the major differences in methods, research orientation and heuristic models between the comparative and international perspectives. Four main differences between the two perspectives are discussed: Galton's problem, the level of analysis, interdependence and (dis)aggregation. Reviewing the different paradigms in European studies, the author argues for a combined, if not synthetic, comparative and multi-level approach. For studying Europe's diversity and unity, a multi-level and multi-centric model seems most promising. Such an approach should take into account both state and non-state actors, as well as the interaction between international and national levels in the Europeanization process.

Sampling Strategies for the Collection of Cultural Data: An Extension of Boas's Answer to Galton's Problem

Les recherches en sciences sociales et comportementales doivent definir de facon conventionnelle des criteres de reference afin de pouvoir elaborer une theorie statistique generale. Cependant de nombreuses recherches font appel a des criteres ou facteurs culturels, ce que les anthropologues nomment ethnographie. La demarche ethnographique necessite une enquete aupres d'informateurs qui vont definir de leur propre point de vue les criteres culturels qui formeront ensuite, pour le chercheur, ses donnees ethnographiques. Les AA. posent la question de la methodologie dans le traitement statistique des donnees culturelles, donnees qui ne peuvent echapper a une construction sociale et culturelle toujours mouvante dans le temps et selon les informateurs. A partir d'une enquete sur les relations familiales aux Etats-Unis, les AA. ont applique deux modeles d'interpretation (analyse statistique classique puis analyse culturelle) qui leur ont permis de differencier l'experience de vie d'une part et les donnees culturelles d'autre part.

Making Historical Connections: Galton's Problem and Opportunity

Galton's problem, the issue of the effects of historical connections between societies based on their characteristics, has received much attention from cross-culturalists. The author reviews the three major responses to Galton's problem and points out that each response treats it as a methodological difficulty. I argue that it would be more fruitful to reframe Galton's problem as a substantive issue, for then cross-culturalists could develop a better under standing of the different kinds of connections among societies and their effects. Links between societies are important forces helping to shape life within each society. I support this argument with exam ples on intersocietal trading ofgoods, labor exchanges, warfare, and interbreeding.

Cross-cultural patterns of marriage and inheritance: A phylogenetic approach

There is a strong correlation between marriage system and wealth inheritance pattern across societies (Hartung 1982); as the degree of polygyny increases, so too does the degree of male bias in inheritance. In this paper, we reevaluate this pattern using a new technique in cross-cultural analyses that effectively controls for the nonindependence of cultures (Galton's problem) through the identification of independent instances of cultural change (Mace and Pagel 1994). First, we produce cultural phylogenetic trees for the societies under study, from phylogenies previously constructed on the basis of linguistic similarity (Ruhlen 1987). Then, following standard methods for the analysis of discrete characters on phylogenetic trees, we use parsimony to determine the ancestral condition of both marriage and inheritance, and subsequently tally the number of independent instances of cultural change in each trait. The results show that transitions to polygyny are much more commonly associated with male-biased inheritance than are transitions to monogamy across human societies in our sample. They illustrate how the degree of change in the evolution of these traits differs considerably between divergent cultural groups. The advantages of this technique are discussed.

The Comparative Method in Anthropology [and Comments and Reply

Cross-cultural comparison is a common method of testing hypotheses regarding the co-evolution of elements of cultures or of the adaptiveness of a cultural practice to some aspect of the environment. It has long been recognized, however, that cultures are not but rather may share many cultural elements by virtue of common ancestry and proximity. Attempts to address this issue, known as Galton's problem, range from statistically removing confounding variables to using a standard sample of independent cultures. We show here that when testing any hypothesis of co-evolution one should not attempt to identify cultures or to create them statistically. Rather, cross-cultural comparative studies must be based upon the identification of events of cultural change. Once this principle is applied, it becomes apparent that it is in fact groups of closely related cultures that are potentially the most informative for testing cross-cultural hypotheses. Constructing phylogenies of cultures and placing upon them instances of cultural elements' arising or changing is an essential part of this task.

Improvements in Cross- Cultural Research Methods

Raoul Naroll was concerned with methodological problems of cross-cultural research—preeminently data quality control and Galton's Problem. After briefly reviewing Naroll's approach to data quality control, this article discusses recommendations for dealing with random and systematic error as taught recently at the Summer Institutes in Comparative Anthropological Research. In connection with those institutes, a computer program, which tests for spatial autocorrelation in the context of multiple regression, has been developed to deal with Galton's Problem. Also discussed are the improvements brought about by the more widespread availability of multivariate statistical techniques.

Comparative Research in the Nordic Countries: Overcoming Ethnocentrism?1

In the beginning of the 1970s comparative politics was still a neglected genre in Nordic political science. During that decade, however, comparative research started to make headway. An examination of articles published in five leading Nordic political science journals during the 1980s indicates that more than one‐tenth of the content was devoted to comparative research. The examination suggests that the Nordic approach to the small‐N problem in comparative research is variegated: binary comparisons constitute just over one‐quarter of the volume, whereas the share of studies exploiting three to five cases is slightly larger, and the share of studies discussing more than five cases is slightly larger still. However, in the selection of cases for study, a more clear‐cut strategy and pattern is revealed. It is clear from the journal data that Nordic comparativists escape ethnocentrism by turning to another ethnocentrism ‐ i. e. they are predominantly preoceupied with the Nordic countries. While this emphasis on Nordic comparisons certainly can be defended on methodological grounds, doubts can be raised about the overall methodological justification of the Nordic orientation. The risks involved are not always recognized. What is known as Galton's problem merits special attention in a Nordic context. The nature of the problem is that empirical relationships may be the result of learning, which means that the cases studied lack independence. Since it is evident that a lot of diffusion occurs in the Nordic countries, the challenges posed by Galton's problem should receive much more attention in Nordic research than is presently the case.

Galton's problem for strict adaptationists

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THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS OF COMPARATIVE SURVEY RESEARCH: WHY THE WHEEL OF CROSS-CULTURAL METHODOLOGY KEEPS ON BEING REINVENTED

Reviewing the earlier literature on methodological issues in comparative research, the paper argues that `in terms of methodology in abstracto and on issues of research technology, most of all that needed to be said has already been published'. Yet the actual research falls short of this available knowledge. Famous publications based on comparative research are really promulgators of research artefacts. Three goals are being emphasised: (a) to counteract the tendency to reinvent the methodological wheel; (b) to help with ex post interpretations of data from cross-national research; (c) to use the difficulties and pay-offs in comparisons for substantive insights. Thus, `Galton's problem' - treating countries as independent cases - forces an evaluation of the pervasiveness of diffusion vs. cultural/national identity. The low stability of many measures requires rethinking the meaning of one-point measurements. Comparative surveys are by implication cross-level research. Therefore, the use of country names as explanans requires theoretical notions about the nation as context for actors and institutions.

Rethinking Polygyny: Co-Wives, Codes, and Cultural Systems [and Comments and Reply

Rethinking Polygyny: Co-Wives, Codes, and Cultural Systems [and Comments and Reply

Galton's Problem as network autocorrelation

Classical statistical inference procedures usually assume the independence of sample units. However, the assumption of independence is often unrealistic in cross‐cultural research because societies in neighboring or historically related regions tend to be duplicates of one another across a wide variety of traits that are spread by historical fission, diffusion, or migration of peoples. A recent generalization of the usual regression model explicitly allows for networks of interdependencies among sample units as part of the model specification. Here, two new estimation procedures for this network autocorrelation model are compared to previously employed maximum likelihood procedures, and to the usual regression procedures which ignore interdependence. The results of comparisons based on simulated autocorrelation data and the reanalyses of two previously published empirical studies indicate that both of the procedures proposed here compare very favorably with the maximum likelihood approach, and both are vastly superior to the usual regression procedures when there is moderate to high autocorrelation (i.e., interdependence). [Galton's Problem, cultural diffusion, networks, cultural evolution, statistical methodology]

A Biparametric Approach to Network Autocorrelation

In anthropology, “Galton's Problem” is generally taken to refer to the interdependence of cases in a cross-cultural sample due to various processes of cultural diffusion. Previous attempts to deal with this problem have usually assumed that these types of interdependencies can be characterized adequately in terms of spatial proximity and/or common linguistic history. In regression analysis using such interdependent data, autocorrelation among the error terms can be incorporated into the model by means of a network relational or connectivity matrix, W. The biparametric model is a straightforward generalization that specifies two autocorrelation parameters associated with two network relational matrices. Simultaneous autocorrelation effects for language similarity and geographical distance matrices are empirically demonstrated using cross-cultural data on the sexual division of labor. An alternative to the maximum likelihood approach to estimation of both autocorrelation parameters is suggested and employed.

On Francis Galton's Difference Problem

Abstract Francis Galton proposed to split the money available for the first two prizes in a competition according to some ratio X, depending on the marks of the three best competitors, but invariant under change of location or scale of the marks. Assuming normality, Galton found that EX is about .75 and empirically he observed that X is nearly uniformly distributed between and 1. Our main purpose is to show that Galton was indeed right for a wide class of underlying distributions. As the number of competitors tends to ∞, the ratio X tends (in distribution) to a uniform random variable.

On Francis Galton's Difference Problem

On Francis Galton's Difference Problem

Sexual Division of Labor in African Agriculture: A Network Autocorrelation Analysis

A model of causes and consequences of sexual division of labor in agriculture is tested using a sample of African societies. Crop type and the presence or absence of slavery are shown to be effective predictors of the degree of female contribution to agricultural subsistence, and the degree of polygyny is shown to be affected by female agricultural contribution and the form of residence. Autocorrelation effects are found and are shown to be a consequence of Bantu societies having higher female participation in agriculture than would otherwise be expected. This effect is an example of one of the kinds of phenomena that anthropologists have referred to as Galton's problem. [sexual division of labor, cultural ecology, Galton's Problem, Africa]

Mathematical Social-Cultural Anthropology: Genealogical Mathematics: Proceedings of the MSSB Conference on Genealogical Mathematics, February 28 - March 3, 1974, at the University of Houston Center for Demographic and Population Genetics . Paul A. Ballonoff. ; The Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town . Richard A. Thompson. ; Quantification in Cultural Anthropology: An Introduction to Research Design .

American AnthropologistVolume 83, Issue 1 p. 121-142 Free Access Mathematical Social-Cultural Anthropology: Genealogical Mathematics: Proceedings of the MSSB Conference on Genealogical Mathematics, February 28-March 3, 1974, at the University of Houston Center for Demographic and Population Genetics. Paul A. Ballonoff: The Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town. Richard A. Thompson.: Quantification in Cultural Anthropology: An Introduction to Research Design. Allen W. Johnson. David B. Kronenfeld, David B. Kronenfeld University of California, RiversideSearch for more papers by this author David B. Kronenfeld, David B. Kronenfeld University of California, RiversideSearch for more papers by this author First published: March 1981 https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1981.83.1.02a00070Citations: 1AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL REFERENCES CITED Blalock, Hubert M. 1960 Social Statistics. New York: McGraw-Hill. El Guindi, Fadwa, and Dwight W. Read 1979 Mathematics in Structural Theory with CA Comment. Current Anthropology 20: 761– 790. Hunt, Robert C. 1975 Review of The Winds of Tomorrow: Social Change in a Maya Town, by Richard A. Thompson. Science 188: 1,293– 1,295. Leaf, M. 1972 Semantics, Language and Thought: the American Kinship Test Case. Paper presented at the Conference on Kinship Semantics, under the auspices of the Mathematics in the Social Sciences Board (NSF), Riverside, California. Mukhopadhyay, Carol C. 1979 The Function of Romantic Love: A Re-appraisal of the Coppinger and Rosenblatt Study. Behavior Science Research 14: 57– 63. Strauss, David J. 1977 Measuring Endogamy. Social Science Research 6: 225– 245. Strauss, David J., and Martin Orans 1975 Mighty Sifts: A Critical Appraisal of Solutions to Galton's Problem and a Partial Solution. Current Anthropology 16: 573– 584. Thompson, Richard A. 1970 Stochastics and Structure: Cultural Change and Social Mobility in a Yucatec Town. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 26: 354– 374. Citing Literature Volume83, Issue1March 1981Pages 121-142 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Spatial Autocorrelation Models for Galton's Problem

The effects of Galton's problem are discussed within a framework provided by the linear regression model. We examine five illustrative diffusion models and evaluate alternative estimation procedures (es pecially Naroll's linked pairs test and Wirsing's second order partial correlation). While no one procedure is adequate for all models, the specification of a diffusion model provides guidance in the selection of an appropriate estimation procedure.

Residence and Descent Is Hyperdiffusional?

Zucker's (1976) test for Galton's problem leads him to claim that the association between patrilocality and patrilineality is "hyperdiffusional.' We critically examine his test, and present detailed evidence of a variety of tests vripporting the lawful relation between residence and descent. We offer also some deductive arguments on the effect and the measurement of diffusion, together with some hypothetical examples showing how sev eral of the proposed solutions go astray. Some of the material of this paper has been outlined in our Reply to Zucker (1977: 118-119).

On Wirsing's Method for Galton's Problem: A Correction and a Further Example

Previous articleNext article No AccessDiscussion and CriticismOn Wirsing's Method for Galton's Problem: A Correction and a Further ExampleDavid Strauss and Martin OransDavid Strauss Search for more articles by this author and Martin Orans Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 18, Number 2Jun., 1977 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/201899 Views: 2Total views on this site Copyright 1977 The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological ResearchPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

More on Solutions to Galton's Problem

Previous articleNext article No AccessDiscussion and CriticismMore on Solutions to Galton's ProblemHarold Gene Zucker, David Strauss, and Martin OransHarold Gene Zucker Search for more articles by this author , David Strauss Search for more articles by this author , and Martin Orans Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 18, Number 1Mar., 1977 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/201866 Views: 3Total views on this site Citations: 3Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1977 The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological ResearchPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: Raoul Naroll , and Mark F. Teaford On Lomax and Arensberg's Evolutionary Classification, Current Anthropology 19, no.22 (Oct 2015): 421–423.https://doi.org/10.1086/202111David Strauss, Martin Orans Residence and Descent Is Hyperdiffusional?, Behavior Science Research 13, no.11 (Sep 2016): 1–23.https://doi.org/10.1177/106939717801300101Harold Gene Zucker Comments, Behavior Science Research 13, no.11 (Sep 2016): 44–49.https://doi.org/10.1177/106939717801300108