– by Eric Schniter, Michael Gurven, & Hillard Kaplan Humans depend on culturally transmitted knowledge and skills crucial for their survival. But how is essential culture transmitted? In economically modern human societies, most youngsters are formally educated alongside their similar-aged peers by unrelated teachers from an older generation. Adults in modern societies often develop into […]
– by Ulises Espinoza The evolutionary social sciences have long sought to comprehend human commonalities. Among these inquiries, a central focus revolves around identifying the traits that collectively compose the so-called “human nature” of our species, in both their psychological and behavioral dimensions. It prompts us to ponder whether certain traits, transcending cultural boundaries, are […]
– by Anne Pisor Is intergroup aggression part of human nature? Or is intergroup tolerance part of human nature? Yes and yes. While such simple headlines make great clickbait, they oversimplify – yet both have a grain of truth. Humans are both profoundly hostile and profoundly tolerant toward out-groups. We’re profoundly flexible. Flexible intergroup relations […]
– By Christopher von Rueden (Photo credit: Chris von Rueden. Tsimane man mediating a dispute over land) The pre-agricultural past may have been more politically diverse than often assumed (see here), but it is likely that political egalitarianism predominated. As observed in many modern hunter-gatherers, political egalitarianism is a collectively-enforced emphasis on individual autonomy and freedom […]
The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, has a faculty position available for a Social Psychologist with the Area of Specialization open. HBES member Laith Al-Shawaf is eager for some evolutionary colleagues, so if you’re looking for something in Social Psychology, you should apply! Here’s the job ad: https://rb.gy/bfkpam Priority will be tgiven to applications received […]
– by Diego Guevara Beltrán, Jessica Ayers, Lee Cronk, & Athena Aktipis Thirty-four experts on cooperation walk into a bar and begin to discuss the ‘true’ meaning of the term ‘reciprocity.’ A biologist offers one definition. She says, “we observe reciprocity when the gift of some food, or another favor, increases the probability for the […]
– by Valentin Thouzeau According to Robert Trivers and Dan Willard’s hypothesis, in many species, parents in good condition should favour male offspring, while parents in poor condition should favour female offspring. Why? First, parents with more resources can support more offspring. Second, in polygynous species, males with more resources are more likely to have […]
– by Léo Fitouchi (Image credit Frans Huby, Creative Commons 3.0) Humans want wrongdoers to suffer. From the justice courts of modern societies to the biblical “eye for an eye,” people everywhere have rules for punishing transgressions including theft, murder, assault, or property damage. Why do human societies punish wrongdoers? You might think the answer […]
– by Kristopher Smith (Image description: Women in a Tanzanian fishing village “planting” shared algae lines during low tide.) Long-distance relationships, whether they be friends, family, or colleagues, are found across the world. And while you might think that long-distance relationships are products of planes, phones, or the internet, long-distance relationships have actually long been […]
The Learning, Evolution and Games 2024 conference will take place in Brisbane in July 2024. The LEG conferences bring together researchers who are interested in the evolutionary foundations of economic and social behaviour, evolutionary game theory, and learning in games. Location: Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Time: 8-9 July 2024 Website: https://sites.google.com/view/leg2024/home Keynote speakers: Ingela Alter (Toulouse) Nichola […]