Historical myths are believed because audiences are socially motivated

Behav Brain Sci. 2025 Jan 2:47:e191. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X24000669.

Abstract

Do people believe in historical myths because they are manipulated by coalitional recruiters, or because it is in their interests to do so? The target article gives somewhat conflicting explanations. We propose that the audiences of historical myths are socially rather than epistemically motivated - they believe and propagate historical myths as a way of signaling their coalitional commitments.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Motivation*
  • Social Behavior