Sensational interests, i.e. a curiosity for the violent and macabre, are reputedly common in mentally disordered offenders. However, ostensibly well-adjusted individuals are also interested in these topics. We tested the hypothesis that individual differences in sensational interests may partially reflect intrasexual competition for status and have an underlying evolutionary function. Several p...

Potentially traumaticeventsevokeawide rangeof responsesandoutcomes.Fromamotivatedsocial cognitive approach to ideology, system-threatening events such as 9/11 should increase psychologicalneeds tomanageuncertaintyand threat and, therefore, theappealofpoliticallyconservative opinions. We investigated “conservative shift” among high-exposure survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks (n = 45) and it...

From Roman gladiatorial combat to Egyptian animal mummies, the capture and manipulation of carnivores was instrumental in helping to shape social hierarchies throughout the ancient world. This paper investigates the historical inflection point when humans began to control animals not only as alimental resources but as ritual symbols and social actors in the New World. At Teotihuacan (A.D. 1-550...

The literature on martyrdom has not, so far, systematically analysed a constitutionally secular state’s extensive use of religion in propagating narratives by using state-controlled religious institutions. This paper addresses this gap literature. In addition, even though some studies have how been used for political purposes Turkey mythmaking and building collective memory, institution’s activ...