– by Lasse Laustsen & Mark van Vugt Across the globe and throughout history, people have repeatedly turned to dominant, authoritarian leaders—figures like Julius Caesar, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump. While democracy advocates may scratch their heads, evolutionary psychology offers a compelling explanation: during times of intergroup conflict—war, terrorism, or intense rivalry—our ancestral instincts kick […]

– by Michael McBride Imagine a world where the biggest, strongest individual gets to eat first, mate first, and make decisions while everyone else cowers in submission. This was the reality for our ancient ancestors millions of years ago, just as it is for many animals today. It was a social life dominated by bullies—mostly […]

– by Bas van Boekholt & Simone Pika. Photo credit by Bas van Boekholt The complexity of human language has no counterpart in the animal kingdom, even though some basic building blocks can be found in animal communication. However, there is not “one” human language, with great variability in languages across the world and cultures. […]