How culture explains different divorce rates between U.S. states, other countries

 A major new study that has shaken the foundations of anthropology, psychology and economics, also provides this insight on the "social rootedness" variable, which I think is a major factor in explaining regional differences in divorce rates in the U.S.:

"Recent research has shown that people in “tight” cultures, those with strong norms and low tolerance for deviant behavior (think India, Malaysia, and Pakistan), develop higher impulse control and more self-monitoring abilities than those from other places. Men raised in the honor culture of the American South have been shown to experience much larger surges of testosterone after insults than do Northerners. Research published late last year suggested psychological differences at the city level too. Compared to San Franciscans, Bostonians’ internal sense of self-worth is more dependent on community status and financial and educational achievement."

"We Aren’t the World" [also titled "Why Americans are the Weirdest People in the World"], Pacific Standard February 25, 2013 • By Ethan Watters 

 

Comments

[Alana H.]

Thanks for the link to the anthropological study.I think that as societies become more industrialized, we'll start seeing a lot more 'Americanness' all around the world. At the same time, I wouldn't classify some of the behavior leading up to divorce to be deviant behavior. In other societies, money plays an important role for individuals who would like to get divorced; financial independence equals higher divorce rates, in my opinion.