In this study, the authors explore the presence of disagreement between parents and their children over choice in spouse as an extension of theories regarding the evolution of mate choice. In non-human animal studies, free mate choice is generally associated with higher fitness. Thus mate preferences, in humans and non-human animals, may have evolved to improve fitness in comparison to random mating. Arranged marriages might likewise reduce biological fitness if parents choose a different spouse than their children would choose. Using ethnographic data from 119 societies, the authors assess the degree to which parents and offspring disagree on mate choice. In about 85% of the cases examined, parents disagreed with offspring choice. The authors call for explicit research on fitness outcomes when disagreement occurs.

This study looks at the possibility of a universal system of social valuation by examining the correlation between shame and devaluation. Researchers conducted an experiment among 899 participants from 15 communities of high cultural variation in order to test if similar relationships between shame and devaluation exist independently of cultural contact or cultural evolution. The findings reveal that shame and devaluation are closely linked both between individuals and members of a local audience, as well as cross-culturally.