ABSTRACT
W e’ll begin with a prediction: Years from now it will become obvious to observe that cross-cultural differences result substantially from regional differences in the prevalence of infectious diseases. Does that sound presumptuous? Perhaps even preposterous? Maybe. For many
readers, our prediction may seem like a provocation that we’ve made up out of thin air. That’s not quite so. The scientic literature has, for years, documented cultural differences that are predicted by the prevalence of pathogens (e.g., Gangestad & Buss, 1993; Low, 1990; Quinlan, 2007; Sherman & Billing, 1999). But these ndings tend to y under the radar of the vast majority of social scientists who concern themselves with culture and cultural variation.
