Working in the framework of cultural epidemiology developed by Dan Sperber, I have studied various cultural phenomena. I'm particularly interested in behaviors that appear weird to us, and that are yet cross-culturally quite common, such as bloodletting or the ordeal.

Mercier, M. , Garsmeur, A., & Mercier, H. The appeal of insight: why riddles and whodunits captivate us. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.

Altay, S.,  Majima, Y & Mercier, H. Happy thoughts: The role of communion in accepting and sharing epistemically suspect beliefs. British Journal of Social Psychology.

Mercier, H. Reputation management and cultural evolution. Journal of Cognition and Culture.

Mercier, H., Hacquin, A.-S. & Claidière, N. Being easy to communicate might make verdicts based on confessions more legitimate. Journal of Cognition and Culture.

Mercier, H. & Boyer, P. Truth-making institutions: From divination, ordeals and oaths to judicial torture and rules of evidence. Evolution and Human Behavior.

Altay, S., Claidière, N. & Mercier, H.  It happened to a friend of a friend: Inaccurate source reporting in rumor diffusion. Evolutionary Human Sciences. 

Mercier, H. The cultural evolution of oaths, ordeals, and lie detectors. Journal of Cognition and Culture.

Mercier, H., Majima, Y., & Miton, H. Willingness to transmit and the spread of pseudo-scientific beliefs. Applied Cognitive Psychology. 

Miton, H, Claidière, N & Mercier, H.  Universal cognitive mechanisms explain the success of bloodletting. Evolution and Human Behavior.