Norm violations and punishments across human societies

Abstract Punishments for norm violations are hypothesized to be a crucial component of the maintenance cooperation in humans but rarely studied from comparative perspective. We investigated degree which punishment systems were correlated with socioecology and cultural history. took data Standard Cross-Cultural Sample database coded ethnographic documents sample 131 largely nonindustrial societies. recorded whether concerned adultery, religion, food, rape, or war cowardice sanctions reputational, physical, material, execution. used Bayesian phylogenetic regression modeling test culture-level covariation. found little evidence signals types, suggesting change relatively quickly over evolutionary that reputational was associated egalitarianism absence food storage; material presence physical moderately greater dependence on hunting; execution social stratification. Taken together, our results suggest role kind vary both by severity violation, also specific socio-economic system society.