David W Lawson
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davidwlawson.bsky.social
David W Lawson
@davidwlawson.bsky.social
1.5K followers 200 following 79 posts

Professor of Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara
Applied Evolutionary Anthropology Lab ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒŽ
Human Behavioral Ecology
Global Health, Family, Gender Norms ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ
aea-lab.com

Videos
Psychology 35%
Medicine 15%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Alex Mesoudi, David W. Lawson

twaring.bsky.social
Tim Waring @twaring.bsky.social ยท 25d
Excited for the new Transmissions episode on ASU's Sarah Mathew on how human warfare evolved, and her fieldwork in Kenya.

Watch here:
youtu.be/eUqEcxf5uBQ?...

New Episodes monthly! Created by @ferylbadiani.bsky.social and @ahnisnaahsi.bsky.social

CC: @arizonastateuni.bsky.social
Transmissions Episode 2 with Dr Sarah Matthew
YouTube video by Cultural Evolution Society
youtu.be

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Clark Gray, David W. Lawson

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social ยท Jan 5
New paper, led by Estelle McLean, on the value of data from Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems. These data sources are particularly suitable for complex longitudinal analyses which require consideration of household and familial contexts, but their complexity may result in their under-use
Versatility, value and limitations of using health and demographic surveillance system data for secondary analyses: guidance for researchers, using examples from existing analyses - Journal of Populat...
Journal of Population Research - Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) are geographic open cohorts operating in countries with absent/incomplete vital registration. Data on demographic...
link.springer.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, David W. Lawson

ruthmace.bsky.social
Ruth Mace @ruthmace.bsky.social ยท Jan 4
Competition for heritable wealth, not cultural group selection, drives the evolution of monogamy | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org

Reposted by David W. Lawson

siobhancully.bsky.social
Siobhรกn Cully ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฅผ๐Ÿค“๐Ÿฉผ @siobhancully.bsky.social ยท Dec 30
All, Agustin Fuentes and I, with the help of numerous others, have drafted a letter to Congress regarding the recent archiving of NSF/ SBE DDRI (doctoral dissertation research improvement) grants, which you can find here: docs.google.com/document/d/1....
DDRI Congress Letter
Dear [Senator/ Representative], Alternate CCs (SBE Assistant Director, etc.) We write to urge the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to reinstate its Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement (...
docs.google.com

Reposted by David W. Lawson

epthepod.bsky.social
Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast) @epthepod.bsky.social ยท Dec 16
This week, we talk to Sara Mathew about the psychology of killing, PTSD, and the relationship between our evolved psychology and cultural evolution.
youtu.be/mgDerXD0djI
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-qypm9...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Culture, Killing, and PTSD with Sarah Mathew
YouTube video by Evolutionary Psychology (The Podcast)
youtu.be

Reposted by David W. Lawson

jolindevlaeyen.bsky.social
Jolinde Vlaeyen @jolindevlaeyen.bsky.social ยท Dec 16
My first PhD paper is published! ๐ŸŽ‰ We compared how wild bonobo and chimpanzee infants (0-5.5y) become independent from their mothers. Here is the open-access link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

๐Ÿงต(1/5)
Great Ape Childhoods: Social and Spatial Pathways to Independence in Bonobo and Chimpanzee Infants
onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Mรกrk E. Hauber, David W. Lawson

asab-meetings.bsky.social
ASAB Spring 2026 @asab-meetings.bsky.social ยท Dec 16
Congratulations to Hanna Kokko for receiving this yearโ€™s ASAB medal! Hanna has done extraordinary work and we are so pleased to honour her at #ASABWinter2025
Hanna posing with tthe medal with ASAB president Melissa

Reposted by David W. Lawson

acerbialberto.com
Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com ยท Dec 16
Work (also) with me!

Two years postdoc in the @weaponisedpasts.bsky.social project, based in Edinburgh. Will do transmission chain experiments to understand the spread of heritage-based hostility, online and elsewhere.

More info
โฌ‡๏ธโฌ‡๏ธโฌ‡๏ธ
chiara-bonacchi.bsky.social Chiara Bonacchi @chiara-bonacchi.bsky.social ยท Dec 16
๐Ÿ“ฃ PDRA JOB (2 Years, full-time) based in Psychology, @schoolofppls.bsky.social: We are hiring a Post-doctoral Research Associate, to work on Strand B (experimental) of our @weaponisedpasts.bsky.social project, generously funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Ian Hussey, Jonathan Hopkin , and 2 more

jayvanbavel.bsky.social
Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social ยท Dec 14
A new PNAS paper finds that polarization increased immediately after the invention of smartphones and the advent of social media, which both appeared around the same year, 2008.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Rebecca Sear, David W. Lawson

acerbialberto.com
Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com ยท Dec 14
"misinformation is widespread in biological systems spanning levels of organization, and [...] is probably an inevitable property that inherits from fundamental constraints on biological communication systems, rather than a pathology"
royalsocietypublishing.org/rsif/article...
A brief natural history of misinformation
Abstract. The idea that organisms benefit by acquiring information through social connections is a cornerstone of our understanding of social evolution and
royalsocietypublishing.org

davidwlawson.bsky.social
David W Lawson @davidwlawson.bsky.social ยท Dec 13
I miss London!

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Daniel S. Goldberg, Alan Richardson , and 3 more

roxanegay.bsky.social
Roxane Gay @roxanegay.bsky.social ยท Dec 13
Each semester I go in my classroom and I try to figure out what we would use to block the doors, if it would be safe to crawl out the windows, where we could hide if there was a mass shooter in campus. Itโ€™s such an indictment of this country how we have normalized these preventable tragedies.

Reposted by David W. Lawson

royalsocietypublishing.org
Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org ยท Dec 13
In this blog post, Guest Editor @rachkendal.bsky.social discusses their #PhilTransB issue, 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures': royalsociety.org/blog/2025/12...

Reposted by Rebecca Sear, David W. Lawson

gillianrbrown1.bsky.social
Prof. Gillian Brown @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social ยท Dec 13
๐ŸšจNew article on gender differences (Rajasekhar et al 2025): 'self-reported empathy appears to be related to social desirability and broader social attitudes, which suggests that a range of cultural and social factors might contribute to gender differences in empathy'. ๐Ÿงช

dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
Gender difference in self-reported empathy: Effects of task instructions and exposure to gender essentialism primes
Women often score higher on average than men on self-report measures of empathy. However, self-report estimates of empathic tendencies and other attributes could be susceptible to a range of biases. F...
dx.plos.org

Reposted by Rebecca Sear, David W. Lawson

kevinlala.bsky.social
Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social ยท Dec 12
Innovations in Decolonising the Curriculum: Multidisciplinary Perspectives.

โ€“ a new book about how to decolonize the curriculum, by Adeela ahmed Shafi et al.

www.emerald.com/books/edited...

Here is our chapter:

Reposted by David W. Lawson

humbehevosoc.bsky.social
Human Behavior & Evolution Society @humbehevosoc.bsky.social ยท Dec 11
New special issues in Philosophical Transactions B highlight advances in cultural evolution and why they matter for challenges like inequality, cooperation, conservation, and education.
๐Ÿ”น Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures
๐Ÿ–‡๏ธ๐Ÿ‘‡
Volume 380 Issue 1940 | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B | The Royal Society
Influential themed journal issues across the life sciences.
royalsocietypublishing.org

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Rebecca Sear, David W. Lawson

royalsocietypublishing.org
Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org ยท Dec 11
This new issue of #PhilTransB expands the field of cultural #evolution and shows why it matters for todayโ€™s biggest challenges. It highlights research funded by the @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social's Transformation Fund, which focused on #DEI: royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...

Reposted by David W. Lawson

drtwymanghoshal.bsky.social
Dr Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal @drtwymanghoshal.bsky.social ยท Dec 11
Our upcoming book will be out TOMORROW:
'Innovations in Decolonising the Curriculum: Multidisciplinary Perspectives'

bookstore.emerald.com/innovations-...

Reposted by Ruth Mace, Rebecca Sear, Jeanโ€Baptiste Andrรฉ , and 1 more

jeannebovet.bsky.social
Jeanne Bovet @jeannebovet.bsky.social ยท Dec 11
Donโ€™t forget to submit your #EHBEA2026 abstract before Dec 15! See you in beautiful Leiden in April! @ehbea2026.bsky.social @ehbea.bsky.social

Reposted by Nicholas A. Christakis, Rebecca Sear, David W. Lawson

psmaldino.bsky.social
Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social ยท Dec 9
Super proud of this paper with @apvelilla.bsky.social and @babeheim.bsky.social, now out in Psych Review.

Non-paywalled version (preprint) here: osf.io/preprints/so...
sfiscience.bsky.social Santa Fe Institute @sfiscience.bsky.social ยท Dec 9
How likely are you to invest in a new business? Ask your partner to marry you? Move to a new country?

A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues explains how wealth, experience, and environment shape our risk tolerance โ€” and how those effects persist across generations.
Personal risk tolerance has sweeping implications for how societies evolve
How much risk is any individual willing to take on? That depends, in part, on their individualย resources and environment, which shape the learning strategies that influence their personal proclivity t...
www.santafe.edu

Reposted by Nicholas A. Christakis, Paul E. Smaldino, David W. Lawson

sfiscience.bsky.social
Santa Fe Institute @sfiscience.bsky.social ยท Dec 9
How likely are you to invest in a new business? Ask your partner to marry you? Move to a new country?

A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues explains how wealth, experience, and environment shape our risk tolerance โ€” and how those effects persist across generations.
Personal risk tolerance has sweeping implications for how societies evolve
How much risk is any individual willing to take on? That depends, in part, on their individualย resources and environment, which shape the learning strategies that influence their personal proclivity t...
www.santafe.edu

davidwlawson.bsky.social
David W Lawson @davidwlawson.bsky.social ยท Dec 9
End of quarter vibes.

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Rebecca Sear

davidwlawson.bsky.social
David W Lawson @davidwlawson.bsky.social ยท Dec 4
Was great to contribute to this conversation about advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in the evolutionary behavioral sciences. Still a LONG way to go, but I'm optimistic things are moving in the right direction.

royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...
Advancing equity in collaborative research: reflections from the Cultural Evolution Society Transformation Fund
Abstract. As the field of cultural evolution marks its fiftieth anniversary, it has an opportunity not only to evolve in theory and scope, but also in ethi
royalsocietypublishing.org

Reposted by Rebecca Sear, Paul E. Smaldino, Alex Mesoudi

davidwlawson.bsky.social
David W Lawson @davidwlawson.bsky.social ยท Dec 4
Excited to get this paper published! ๐ŸŒŸ

We argue that men exaggerate patriarchal beliefs in an effort to signal conformity to others, which in turn fuels misperceptions about peers - making patriarchal norms resistant to change.

royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...

Reposted by David W. Lawson

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social ยท Dec 4
"This Issue stems from the Cultural Evolution Society Transformation Fund, designed to bridge the social & natural sciences, promote equity, diversity & inclusion & support work with policy relevance. This diversification of the CE field strengthens its capacity to positively shape global futures"

Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill, Rebecca Sear, Alex Mesoudi , and 2 more

rachkendal.bsky.social
Rachel Kendal @rachkendal.bsky.social ยท Dec 4
Today sees the publication of the Theme Issue featuring the CES Transformation Fund grant scheme. Enjoy! royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
@durhamdcerc.bsky.social @durhamanthropology.bsky.social @cultevolfunding.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
Picture of front cover of Theme Issue entitled "Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures." The image on the front cover is of a Yao honey hunter in Mozambique holding retrieved honeycomb.

Reposted by David W. Lawson

siobhancully.bsky.social
Siobhรกn Cully ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฅผ๐Ÿค“๐Ÿฉผ @siobhancully.bsky.social ยท Dec 2
We are hiring a postdoc in the evolveD lab (evolvedlab.net) at Rutgers University. The remit is broad. We are looking for innovation, passion, and ethical collaboration. Please share the ad and email/ DM w/ Qs. We will start reviewing applications January 5.
Home | Evolve D Lab
evolvedlab.net

Reposted by Rebecca Sear, Martin Lang, David W. Lawson

brunelcce.bsky.social
Centre for Culture and Evolution @brunelcce.bsky.social ยท Dec 2
1/ ๐Ÿงต New PNAS paper by CCEโ€™s @michealdebarra.bsky.social @aiyanakoka.bsky.social with Angel V Jimรฉnez and Nachita Rosun๐ŸŽ‰

๐Ÿ“„ Why do people turn to religious or supernatural cures?
๐Ÿงช๐Ÿบ

#evolpsy #evolanth #evolutionarybehaviouralsciences #culturalevolution
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org

davidwlawson.bsky.social
David W Lawson @davidwlawson.bsky.social ยท Dec 1
This is a really great interview.

Inspired me to add a Machine Culture lecture to my Cultural Evolution course.

Reposted by Michelle Kellyโ€Irving, David W. Lawson

uossocstatdemo.bsky.social
UoS Social Statistics and Demography @uossocstatdemo.bsky.social ยท Dec 1
The Department of Social Statistics and Demography at the University of Southampton is seeking candidates to apply for fully funded PhD positions through the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP; @scdtp.bsky.social).

๐Ÿ—“๏ธ Deadline for 2026/27 entry: 16 January 2026, 16:00 GMT

More info โฌ‡๏ธ
Graphic advertising fully funded PhD studentships in Social Statistics and Demography at the University of Southampton, funded through the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP). Background image shows the Highfield campus at night. The text highlights: Application deadline: 16 January 2026, 16:00 GMT Research supervision areas: family and social demography, population and global health, migration and demographic modelling, statistical methodology, official statistics and survey methods Funding routes: 1+3.5 MSc + PhD (with Research-in-Practice placement) +3.5 PhD only (with placement) +4.5 interdisciplinary route (with placement) For details and how to apply: bit.ly/48u1cEa Contact: Dr Liliana Andriano โ€“ L.Andriano@soton.ac.uk Logos: University of Southampton and South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SC.DTP).