David W Lawson
@davidwlawson.bsky.social
Professor of Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara
Applied Evolutionary Anthropology Lab 🌍🌏🌎
Human Behavioral Ecology
Global Health, Family, Gender Norms 🏳️🌈
aea-lab.com
Applied Evolutionary Anthropology Lab 🌍🌏🌎
Human Behavioral Ecology
Global Health, Family, Gender Norms 🏳️🌈
aea-lab.com
Reposted by David W Lawson
Shuster et al (2025) on the gendering of plant reproduction processes: "The durability of gender stereotypes in describing plant reproduction reflects deeper tensions in the communication of information by the scientific community." 🧪
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Plant Sex: A Cultural Analysis of the Gendering of Plant Reproduction Processes | Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society: Vol 50, No 3
Abstract Scholarship from feminist science, knowledge, and technology (FSTS) studies consistently demonstrates how the production of knowledge about biological processes depends upon gender stereotype...
www.journals.uchicago.edu
November 18, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Shuster et al (2025) on the gendering of plant reproduction processes: "The durability of gender stereotypes in describing plant reproduction reflects deeper tensions in the communication of information by the scientific community." 🧪
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Reposted by David W Lawson
📣 New BBS preprint out now! 📣
"Models casting egalitarian societies as crucibles of equality perpetuate the factually uninformed notion that foragers are somehow more noble. Critiques portray egalitarianism as romantic fantasy. Neither characterization is wholly justified."
doi.org/10.1017/S014...
"Models casting egalitarian societies as crucibles of equality perpetuate the factually uninformed notion that foragers are somehow more noble. Critiques portray egalitarianism as romantic fantasy. Neither characterization is wholly justified."
doi.org/10.1017/S014...
Egalitarianism is not Equality: Moving from outcome to process in the study of human political organisation | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge Core
Egalitarianism is not Equality: Moving from outcome to process in the study of human political organisation
doi.org
November 18, 2025 at 8:05 AM
📣 New BBS preprint out now! 📣
"Models casting egalitarian societies as crucibles of equality perpetuate the factually uninformed notion that foragers are somehow more noble. Critiques portray egalitarianism as romantic fantasy. Neither characterization is wholly justified."
doi.org/10.1017/S014...
"Models casting egalitarian societies as crucibles of equality perpetuate the factually uninformed notion that foragers are somehow more noble. Critiques portray egalitarianism as romantic fantasy. Neither characterization is wholly justified."
doi.org/10.1017/S014...
Reposted by David W Lawson
Many thanks to my wonderful coauthor @chrisvonrueden.bsky.social for being ever insightful and incisive. I've wanted to work with him for years and it has been a joy and a pleasure.
Also note that an this early online uncorrected proof - Baylor University does not have a UK campus ☺️
Also note that an this early online uncorrected proof - Baylor University does not have a UK campus ☺️
📣 New BBS preprint out now! 📣
"Models casting egalitarian societies as crucibles of equality perpetuate the factually uninformed notion that foragers are somehow more noble. Critiques portray egalitarianism as romantic fantasy. Neither characterization is wholly justified."
doi.org/10.1017/S014...
"Models casting egalitarian societies as crucibles of equality perpetuate the factually uninformed notion that foragers are somehow more noble. Critiques portray egalitarianism as romantic fantasy. Neither characterization is wholly justified."
doi.org/10.1017/S014...
Egalitarianism is not Equality: Moving from outcome to process in the study of human political organisation | Behavioral and Brain Sciences | Cambridge Core
Egalitarianism is not Equality: Moving from outcome to process in the study of human political organisation
doi.org
November 18, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Many thanks to my wonderful coauthor @chrisvonrueden.bsky.social for being ever insightful and incisive. I've wanted to work with him for years and it has been a joy and a pleasure.
Also note that an this early online uncorrected proof - Baylor University does not have a UK campus ☺️
Also note that an this early online uncorrected proof - Baylor University does not have a UK campus ☺️
Reposted by David W Lawson
This week we talk to @bscelza.bsky.social about Polygamy and the state of the evolutionary behavioral sciences.
youtu.be/F2rz-vuczX0
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-9i7eb...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
youtu.be/F2rz-vuczX0
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-9i7eb...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Polygamy with Brooke Scelza
YouTube video by Evolutionary Psychology (The Podcast)
youtu.be
November 18, 2025 at 4:04 PM
This week we talk to @bscelza.bsky.social about Polygamy and the state of the evolutionary behavioral sciences.
youtu.be/F2rz-vuczX0
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-9i7eb...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
youtu.be/F2rz-vuczX0
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-9i7eb...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Reposted by David W Lawson
Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...
Resumption of Operations at NSF
Information for NSF staff and the research community regarding the agency's resumption of operations after a lapse in appropriations.
www.nsf.gov
November 18, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...
Reposted by David W Lawson
This is such a cool study. A parasitic ant queen tricks worker ants into murdering their own queen, so the parasite can take over the colony.
This parasitic ant tricks workers into committing matricide
Newly mated parasitic queen ants invade colonies and spray their victims with a chemical irritant that provokes the workers to kill their mother.
www.sciencenews.org
November 17, 2025 at 5:43 PM
This is such a cool study. A parasitic ant queen tricks worker ants into murdering their own queen, so the parasite can take over the colony.
Reposted by David W Lawson
In 2008, after killing many of their neighbors, Ngogo chimpanzees expanded their territory. Female fertility then doubled, and infant mortality plummeted. Adaptive violence in our ape cousins, documented in this new paper. www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Female fertility and infant survivorship increase following lethal intergroup aggression and territorial expansion in wild chimpanzees | PNAS
Lethal coalitionary intergroup aggression is a conspicuous aspect of wild chimpanzee
behavior. Evidence indicates that such violence can lead to te...
www.pnas.org
November 18, 2025 at 4:20 AM
In 2008, after killing many of their neighbors, Ngogo chimpanzees expanded their territory. Female fertility then doubled, and infant mortality plummeted. Adaptive violence in our ape cousins, documented in this new paper. www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by David W Lawson
N-IUSSP: The kinship gap. When just a few years of difference make a difference
www.niussp.org/fertility-an...
#demography
#populationstudies
www.niussp.org/fertility-an...
#demography
#populationstudies
The kinship gap. When just a few years of difference make a difference - N-IUSSP
Rapid decline in a country’s birth and death rates creates a “kinship gap”, leaving people born just years apart with vastly different family support networks. Sha Jiang discusses the ensuing ... Read...
www.niussp.org
November 17, 2025 at 12:21 PM
N-IUSSP: The kinship gap. When just a few years of difference make a difference
www.niussp.org/fertility-an...
#demography
#populationstudies
www.niussp.org/fertility-an...
#demography
#populationstudies
Reposted by David W Lawson
Brunel's press release about our (@hggaddy.bsky.social @anthrolog.bsky.social) recent publication, showing that high levels of polygyny don't necessarily lock men out of the marriage market
www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
Data questions myths about multiple wife marriages, men and violence
A new study analyzing 84 million census records reveals that polygyny does not increase the number of unmarried men. In many societies where polygyny is common, men are actually more likely to be marr...
www.brunel.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Brunel's press release about our (@hggaddy.bsky.social @anthrolog.bsky.social) recent publication, showing that high levels of polygyny don't necessarily lock men out of the marriage market
www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
Reposted by David W Lawson
Come and do a PhD at Exeter with me and Chico Camargo (Computer Science) on human-genAI coevolution
"Leveraging Natural Language Processing for Data-Driven Agent-Based Modelling of Online Cultural Dynamics"
www.exeter.ac.uk/v8media/recr...
More details here:
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
"Leveraging Natural Language Processing for Data-Driven Agent-Based Modelling of Online Cultural Dynamics"
www.exeter.ac.uk/v8media/recr...
More details here:
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
www.exeter.ac.uk
November 14, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Come and do a PhD at Exeter with me and Chico Camargo (Computer Science) on human-genAI coevolution
"Leveraging Natural Language Processing for Data-Driven Agent-Based Modelling of Online Cultural Dynamics"
www.exeter.ac.uk/v8media/recr...
More details here:
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
"Leveraging Natural Language Processing for Data-Driven Agent-Based Modelling of Online Cultural Dynamics"
www.exeter.ac.uk/v8media/recr...
More details here:
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
Reposted by David W Lawson
The submission deadline for #CESRabat has been extended to 30 November
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
👉 A reminder that the deadline for submitting your abstract to the CES 2026 #CESRabat is the 16th of November.
🔗Submit here: airess.fgses-um6p.ma/ces2026
We look forward to seeing you in Rabat!
🔗Submit here: airess.fgses-um6p.ma/ces2026
We look forward to seeing you in Rabat!
We’re delighted to share that the CES2026 Conference website is now live!
We warmly invite researchers, scholars, and practitioners to submit their presentation proposals by November 16th through the submission portal on the website.
We warmly invite researchers, scholars, and practitioners to submit their presentation proposals by November 16th through the submission portal on the website.
November 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The submission deadline for #CESRabat has been extended to 30 November
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
@ces2026.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
🚨 🐍 Our new paper on the consequences men face when countering patriarchal norms in rural Tanzania 🐍.🚨
We carried out focus groups and detailed interviews with a whopping 172 women and men about their perceptions of men who support women's empowerment... 📝 1/5
We carried out focus groups and detailed interviews with a whopping 172 women and men about their perceptions of men who support women's empowerment... 📝 1/5
“A snake with no teeth”: Urbanization shifts perceptions of men who support women’s empowerment in Northwestern Tanzania
Achieving gender equality requires the support of all genders, but efforts to engage men in women’s empowerment initiatives have been fraught with res…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:45 PM
🚨 🐍 Our new paper on the consequences men face when countering patriarchal norms in rural Tanzania 🐍.🚨
We carried out focus groups and detailed interviews with a whopping 172 women and men about their perceptions of men who support women's empowerment... 📝 1/5
We carried out focus groups and detailed interviews with a whopping 172 women and men about their perceptions of men who support women's empowerment... 📝 1/5
Reposted by David W Lawson
The influence of race science is spreading in the evolutionary behavioural sciences. This new paper means members of a race science network have now been published in Evolutionary Psychological Science, Evolutionary Behavioral Science, Evolutionary Psychology & Adaptive Human Behavior & Physiology
November 12, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The influence of race science is spreading in the evolutionary behavioural sciences. This new paper means members of a race science network have now been published in Evolutionary Psychological Science, Evolutionary Behavioral Science, Evolutionary Psychology & Adaptive Human Behavior & Physiology
Reposted by David W Lawson
So, lots of people picking up Kevin's post to declare all Evolutionary Psychology/ists misogynistic pervs. And I get why but look:
I trained in Evo Psych. I trained in Behavioural Ecology too which maybe helps but I came into academia an enthusiastic researcher of sexual selection.
1/
I trained in Evo Psych. I trained in Behavioural Ecology too which maybe helps but I came into academia an enthusiastic researcher of sexual selection.
1/
Evolutionary psychology makes a big to-do about their finding that sexual selection favors a "feminine body type" that "signals fertility/reproductive potential", including some rather... silly research. Turns out, those traits don't seem to signal reproductive success. Oops! doi.org/10.1017/ehs....
November 9, 2025 at 10:32 PM
So, lots of people picking up Kevin's post to declare all Evolutionary Psychology/ists misogynistic pervs. And I get why but look:
I trained in Evo Psych. I trained in Behavioural Ecology too which maybe helps but I came into academia an enthusiastic researcher of sexual selection.
1/
I trained in Evo Psych. I trained in Behavioural Ecology too which maybe helps but I came into academia an enthusiastic researcher of sexual selection.
1/
Reposted by David W Lawson
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Reposted by David W Lawson
Curious about using census microdata in your research? 📊
Join us for a webinar on IPUMS International, the world’s leading repository of harmonized census data.
🗓️ 12 Nov 2025 | 🕒 15:15–16:30 UK | 💻 Zoom
Register: forms.gle/oqTDNU4Zpn2s...
Hosted by the LSE Historical Economic Demography Group.
Join us for a webinar on IPUMS International, the world’s leading repository of harmonized census data.
🗓️ 12 Nov 2025 | 🕒 15:15–16:30 UK | 💻 Zoom
Register: forms.gle/oqTDNU4Zpn2s...
Hosted by the LSE Historical Economic Demography Group.
Register for IPUMs International Online Session
Please use this form to register for the IPUMs International Session hosted by the Historical Economic Demography Group at LSE.
The session will be on Zoom from 15:15-16:30 UK Time on 12 November 202...
forms.gle
November 5, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Curious about using census microdata in your research? 📊
Join us for a webinar on IPUMS International, the world’s leading repository of harmonized census data.
🗓️ 12 Nov 2025 | 🕒 15:15–16:30 UK | 💻 Zoom
Register: forms.gle/oqTDNU4Zpn2s...
Hosted by the LSE Historical Economic Demography Group.
Join us for a webinar on IPUMS International, the world’s leading repository of harmonized census data.
🗓️ 12 Nov 2025 | 🕒 15:15–16:30 UK | 💻 Zoom
Register: forms.gle/oqTDNU4Zpn2s...
Hosted by the LSE Historical Economic Demography Group.
Reposted by David W Lawson
Looking forward to this!
Tomorrow (Nov 6) at 6:00 pm PST, join Chaucer's Books in hosting @mgurven.bsky.social, author of Seven Decades, for a talk and a signing! Come explore the unique evolutionary path that led to human longevity and challenge how we think about aging.
Learn about this in-person event: buff.ly/tKzGDn1
Learn about this in-person event: buff.ly/tKzGDn1
November 6, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Looking forward to this!
Reposted by David W Lawson
"Simplistic stories about the dangers of polygyny can be compelling but they risk misleading the public, reinforcing notions of Western cultural superiority & disrupting global health policy by sidelining pertinent initiatives. Building healthier societies necessitates paying attention to evidence"
Simplistic stories about the dangers of polygamy can be compelling & intuitive, but what is the evidence that monogamous marriage is advantageous for society?
theconversation.com/rethinking-p...
theconversation.com/rethinking-p...
Rethinking polygamy – new research upends conventional thinking about the advantages of monogamous marriage
Simplistic stories about the dangers of polygamy can be compelling and intuitive. But new research suggests some arguments about its harms don’t hold up.
theconversation.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:04 AM
"Simplistic stories about the dangers of polygyny can be compelling but they risk misleading the public, reinforcing notions of Western cultural superiority & disrupting global health policy by sidelining pertinent initiatives. Building healthier societies necessitates paying attention to evidence"
Prepping a lecture on paternal care and revisiting this brilliant 2024 article by Brooke Scelza.
Such a good demonstration of the value of an anthropological lens when thinking about the evolution of human family life.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Such a good demonstration of the value of an anthropological lens when thinking about the evolution of human family life.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
The cuckoldry conundrum
Concerns about cuckoldry are a dominant theme in evolutionary studies of mating, frequently used to explain sex differences in reproductive strategies. However, studies in nonhuman species have shown...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Prepping a lecture on paternal care and revisiting this brilliant 2024 article by Brooke Scelza.
Such a good demonstration of the value of an anthropological lens when thinking about the evolution of human family life.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Such a good demonstration of the value of an anthropological lens when thinking about the evolution of human family life.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by David W Lawson
In this commentary, I argue that student-based teaching evaluations are problematic bc
✳️ systematic biases (e.g., racism, sexism)
✳️ poor construct validity
✳️ undermine standards and learning
We should evaluate teaching as seriously as we do research. Or don't do teaching evaluations.
✳️ systematic biases (e.g., racism, sexism)
✳️ poor construct validity
✳️ undermine standards and learning
We should evaluate teaching as seriously as we do research. Or don't do teaching evaluations.
It is time to abandon student evaluations of teaching
Comment by Gordon Hodson (@gordonhodsonphd.bsky.social)
Web: go.nature.com/4jfAzXo
PDF: rdcu.be/ef9y5
Comment by Gordon Hodson (@gordonhodsonphd.bsky.social)
Web: go.nature.com/4jfAzXo
PDF: rdcu.be/ef9y5
April 2, 2025 at 4:30 PM
In this commentary, I argue that student-based teaching evaluations are problematic bc
✳️ systematic biases (e.g., racism, sexism)
✳️ poor construct validity
✳️ undermine standards and learning
We should evaluate teaching as seriously as we do research. Or don't do teaching evaluations.
✳️ systematic biases (e.g., racism, sexism)
✳️ poor construct validity
✳️ undermine standards and learning
We should evaluate teaching as seriously as we do research. Or don't do teaching evaluations.
Congratulations to the now Dr Joseph Kilgallen 🧑🎓🥂 - who give a wonderful defense talk yesterday! So proud of what he has achieved over the last 6 years - and excited for what is to come! Woo-hoo!
October 30, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Congratulations to the now Dr Joseph Kilgallen 🧑🎓🥂 - who give a wonderful defense talk yesterday! So proud of what he has achieved over the last 6 years - and excited for what is to come! Woo-hoo!
Today!
⭐️ Negotiating Masculinity in a Changing World ⭐️
Grad student - and soon to be doctor - Joseph Kilgallen will be giving a public talk on his thesis on Wed Oct 29th 9am (California time).
Join us in person or on zoom (dm me and I’ll send you a link!). All welcome!
Grad student - and soon to be doctor - Joseph Kilgallen will be giving a public talk on his thesis on Wed Oct 29th 9am (California time).
Join us in person or on zoom (dm me and I’ll send you a link!). All welcome!
October 29, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Today!
Reposted by David W Lawson
Leiden looking good today ;-)
📢 Abstract submission will be open Nov 1st – Dec 15th for EHBEA 2026
⚡Present your research, connect & collaborate 14-17 April
📝 300 words (extendable to 800 after acceptance)
For more information & our full call for abstracts, check www.ehbea2026.com
📢 Abstract submission will be open Nov 1st – Dec 15th for EHBEA 2026
⚡Present your research, connect & collaborate 14-17 April
📝 300 words (extendable to 800 after acceptance)
For more information & our full call for abstracts, check www.ehbea2026.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Leiden looking good today ;-)
📢 Abstract submission will be open Nov 1st – Dec 15th for EHBEA 2026
⚡Present your research, connect & collaborate 14-17 April
📝 300 words (extendable to 800 after acceptance)
For more information & our full call for abstracts, check www.ehbea2026.com
📢 Abstract submission will be open Nov 1st – Dec 15th for EHBEA 2026
⚡Present your research, connect & collaborate 14-17 April
📝 300 words (extendable to 800 after acceptance)
For more information & our full call for abstracts, check www.ehbea2026.com
Reposted by David W Lawson
⭐️ Negotiating Masculinity in a Changing World ⭐️
Grad student - and soon to be doctor - Joseph Kilgallen will be giving a public talk on his thesis on Wed Oct 29th 9am (California time).
Join us in person or on zoom (dm me and I’ll send you a link!). All welcome!
Grad student - and soon to be doctor - Joseph Kilgallen will be giving a public talk on his thesis on Wed Oct 29th 9am (California time).
Join us in person or on zoom (dm me and I’ll send you a link!). All welcome!
October 23, 2025 at 4:52 AM
⭐️ Negotiating Masculinity in a Changing World ⭐️
Grad student - and soon to be doctor - Joseph Kilgallen will be giving a public talk on his thesis on Wed Oct 29th 9am (California time).
Join us in person or on zoom (dm me and I’ll send you a link!). All welcome!
Grad student - and soon to be doctor - Joseph Kilgallen will be giving a public talk on his thesis on Wed Oct 29th 9am (California time).
Join us in person or on zoom (dm me and I’ll send you a link!). All welcome!
Reposted by David W Lawson
I’m recruiting #PhD students to join my Lab for Infant Learning and Cognition (LILAC) at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social! We study how infants learn about the natural world from others 🌱 If you’re interested in #devpsych, #EvPsych, and #infantstudies, please reach out and apply! More info below (1/2)
October 27, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I’m recruiting #PhD students to join my Lab for Infant Learning and Cognition (LILAC) at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social! We study how infants learn about the natural world from others 🌱 If you’re interested in #devpsych, #EvPsych, and #infantstudies, please reach out and apply! More info below (1/2)