Welcome!

Our interest is in studying human social behaviour from an evolutionary framework to develop ideas and questions. Members of the research group study a variety of topics including leadership and followership, altruism, costly signalling, intergroup conflict, sex differences in ingroup behaviour and sexual selection for altruism as a display. We use a combination of laboratory experiments, surveys and field research. Last summer, we organised a workshop on Evolution and Group Processes, sponsored by EAESP and the British Academy.

Ongoing Projects

There are currently projects ongoing on several topics:
- Leadership in an evolutionary context
- Competitive altruism and reputation-based cooperation
- Altruism and sexual selection
- Laughter and humour as social lubricant in groups
- Intergroup conflict and the male warrior hypothesis

Members

Mark Van Vugt, Professor of Social Psychology
Rick O'Gorman, Research Associate/postdoctoral researcher
Charlie Hardy, PhD student
Wendy Iredale, PhD student

Further information

To find out more about the Evolutionary Social Psychology Lab, or for information on postgraduate opportunities (master's and PhD) or final-year projects, contact Mark Van Vugt

Mark van Vugt's publications, including on evolutionary social psychology.

Evolutionary Social Sciences group

Along with our own lab group, we organise an interdisciplinary group focussed on evolutionary approaches to social sciences that meets approximately once a month. We usually discuss recent relevant or interesting papers, as well as circulating news and activities that may relate to members' interests. If you are interested in attending, you would be more than welcome! Please contact Mark Van Vugt

Group members include:

Sarah Johns, Anthropology
Nick Newton-Fisher, Anthropology
Edward Cartwright, Economics
Kiran Kalidindi, Computing
Alex Dolby, History
Sascha Griffiths, Anthropology

External collaborators:

Rob Kurzban, leadership
Robin Dunbar, From Lucy to language: Archaelogy of the social brain
Justin Park, Kinship and altruism
Mark Schaller, Evolution and group dynamics
David Sloan Wilson, Multilevel selection