The WEIRDest People in the World
Joseph Henrich, chair of Harvard's Human Evolutionary Biology department, argues that Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic populations are psychological outliers across the global record. The book traces the divergence to a series of Catholic Church edicts on marriage starting in the 4th century that banned cousin marriage, ended polygamy, and dismantled the kin-based clans that organized most pre-modern societies. Henrich uses cultural-evolution theory and decades of cross-cultural psychology data to show how this institutional shift coevolved with impersonal markets, voluntary association, and the analytical mindset behind the modern world.
What you might want to know about The WEIRDest People in the World
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Harvard evolutionary biologist Joseph Henrich argues that medieval Catholic marriage edicts dismantled kin-based clans and produced the psychologically peculiar populations of the modern West.
The WEIRDest People in the World argues that Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD) populations are psychologically unusual compared to most of human history. Joseph Henrich draws on cross-cultural psychology research to make the argument.
Yes. Joseph Henrich is a Harvard evolutionary biologist whose WEIRD critique is widely cited in cross-cultural psychology. The framework is generally accepted; some specific causal mechanisms remain debated.
The WEIRDest People in the World was written by Joseph Henrich, published in 2020 by Penguin Books, Limited.
The WEIRDest People in the World is 704 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The WEIRDest People in the World takes most readers 11 to 15 hours to finish.
The WEIRDest People in the World is a standalone novel by Joseph Henrich, not part of a series.
The WEIRDest People in the World is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.