When is it good to believe bad things?
Name
MandD-BBS-commentary.pdf
Size
233.1 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
0c68fa5937aa18a6b39b0f94576dea59
Author(s)
Ackerman, Joshua
Shapiro, Jenessa R.
Maner, Jon K.
Date Issued
January 2010
Journal
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Citation
Ackerman, Joshua M., Jenessa R. Shapiro, and Jon K. Maner. “When Is It Good to Believe Bad Things?” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 32.06 (2010) : 510.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Positive and negative misbeliefs both may have evolved to serve important adaptive functions. Here, we focus on the role of negative misbeliefs in promoting adaptive outcomes within the contexts of romantic relationships and intergroup interactions. Believing bad things can paradoxically encourage romantic fidelity, personal safety, competitive success, and group solidarity, among other positive outcomes. The evolution of misbelief Ryan T. McKay and Daniel C. Dennett Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland; and Centre for Anthropology and Mind, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6PE, United Kingdom ryantmckay@mac.com http://homepage.mac.com/ryantmckay/; The Center for Cognitive Studies, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155-7059 ddennett@tufts.edu http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/incbios/dennettd/dennettd.htm
Description
Open Peer Commentary
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x09991142
