Nature & Nurture #90: Dr. Rob Henderson - Luxury Beliefs & Status Signals

Dr. Rob Henderson is a psychologist best known for his research on luxury beliefs.
In this episode, we talk about risk and resilience factors for success in America, including growing up in stable two-parent households. Rob shares how his experience growing up in the foster care system and his military service primed him for identifying luxury beliefs of the upper class during his studies at Yale and Cambridge. We discuss how luxury beliefs confer status upon elites, but disproportionately harm people in poor and working-class communities. As a case-study, we talk about changing norms surrounding monogamy and casual sex. Lastly, we talk about evolutionary pressures for and against monogamy, cooperation, and different moral values.
0:00:02 Introduction to Dr. Rob Henderson and his research on luxury beliefs and social status
0:00:47 Discussion on the deteriorating state of young men in America
0:03:21 The differential effects of family structure on boys and girls
0:04:56 The interaction between nature and nurture in determining life outcomes
0:06:08 The impact of environmental inputs on cognitive ability and personality
0:08:38 The importance of stable and decent childhoods for children's well-being
0:11:54 The different ways in which "Lost Boys" manifest their struggles
0:14:35 The role of the military in providing structure and stability
0:16:26 The cultural shock experienced by Dr. Henderson at Yale
0:20:22 The concept of luxury beliefs and their role in conferring status
0:25:21 The moralization of luxury beliefs and the language treadmill
0:28:08 The harms caused by luxury beliefs, particularly in relation to monogamy
0:36:56 The impact of luxury beliefs on lower status people
0:45:40 The impact of luxury beliefs on mating psychology and relationships
0:53:49 The consequences of polyamory and the importance of monogamy for children
1:00:08 The potential consequences of a society-wide shift towards polyamory
1:05:04 The frustration of entitled attitudes towards income and education
1:05:40 The complexity of evolutionary forces and moral norms
1:06:41 The limitations of grounding morality solely in evolutionary models
1:08:11 The influence of economic education on selfish behavior in games
1:09:21 The importance of reputation and belonging in human psychology
1:11:30 Dr. Henderson's book and its exploration of personal experiences and social commentary

[@chrisocony]

Enjoying the podcast. Darwin said, “The sight of a feather in a peacock's tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!” You mentioned that it's a signal of fitness which is the prevailing view and the neo-Darwinian view. But in addition to natural selection (fitness), there is sexual selection and the thesis here would be that, for instance, the female peacock just really digs the colorful, long tail and that's the mate she wants. Just capricious choice based on beauty. So you have these unwieldy feathers which is the price the males pay if they want to be selected by a female. It has nothing to do with fitness, according to sexual selection theory.

[@druidofwicklowemerald7192]

Life is Mad🍀

[@WhiteRussianBC]

You should get Karl Friston on the podcast