Humans around the world use narrative art as storage of information about local moral norms which coordinate their social living, and also as a tool to criticize and transgress them. However, scientific literature often mentions narrative art rather as a side note that is sketched and not developed in-depth. To further our understanding, Horský developed an interdisciplinary and integrative account of the role of narrative art in the acquisition of moral information.
In the first part of the paper, Horský claims that narrative art plays an important role in shaping the moral outlook of its recipients. In the second part of this paper, he analyzes American rap music as a case study of one contemporary type of narrative art. Horský argues that rap music, due to its massive popularity, repeated consumption, and harnessing of the influence of several transmission biases, constitutes an especially fruitful object for the study of the cultural transmission of value systems through narrative art forms.
You can find the paper here:
https://brill.com/view/journals/jocc/22/3-4/article-p264_5.xml
In a new study published in Human Nature, LEVYNA was part of a team lead by A.K. Willard, studying how witchcraft beliefs affect social norms and behaviors. Specifically, researchers investigated whether witchcraft is regarded to be motivated by envy and how this notion influences community interactions. The findings show that, while witchcraft accusations were common, they were mostly directed at persons suspected of acting out of envy.
In an ethnographic survey-based study published in the journal Religions, D. Xygalatas and P. Maňo looked at variation in motivations for ritual practice and how it relates to the socioeconomic status of respondents. The findings indicate that whereas people of lower socioeconomic standing address more immediate concerns related to material security and safety in their ritual practices, people at the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum tend to focus on the fulfillment of spiritual, social, or cultural needs.
