View article

Climatic demands of cold winters and hot summers help explain why, whereas poverty and riches help explain how, inhabitants adapt culturally to their place of residence, their habitat. Motivational goals, behavioral means, and behavioral outcomes differ systematically in the following four types of habitats: threatening (demanding, poor); unthreatening (undemanding, poor); unchallenging (undemanding, rich); and challenging (demanding, rich). Perhaps most notably, there are stepwise increases in freedom, individualism, cooperation and creativity from threatening to unthreatening to unchallenging to challenging habitats. Geographically viewed, north-south differences dwarf east-west differences in climatic demands and wealth resources, and thus in climato-economic habitats. As a consequence, north-south differences also dwarf east-west differences in motives and behaviors. Because of their climato …