Ralf Kurvers
@ralfkurvers.bsky.social
Collective decision making in human and non-human animals. Senior Researcher @arc-mpib.bsky.social | PI SCIoI | Guest researcher @leibnizigb.bsky.social |
Website: ralfkurvers.com/ | www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/person/93403/2549
Website: ralfkurvers.com/ | www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/person/93403/2549
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
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 Ralf Kurvers
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 Ralf Kurvers
Four (!) three-year postdoc positions available at @au.dk: international.au.dk/about/profil...
Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy.
Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy.
Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
Four three-year postdoctoral positions in the project Slow-Motion Democracy - Vacancy at Aarhus University
Vacancy at Department of Political Science, Aarhus University
international.au.dk
November 6, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Four (!) three-year postdoc positions available at @au.dk: international.au.dk/about/profil...
Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy.
Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
Join an incredible team & help understand the psychological & political implications of the clash between high-speed society & slow-speed democracy.
Please share! @tboeggild.bsky.social can help with Qs
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Really enjoyed this podcast with @sheinalew.bsky.social and @dorsaamir.bsky.social on evolution and childhood. Super-smart people talking about a super-interesting topic
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...
Varieties of childhood
Podcast Episode · Many Minds · 10/07/2025 · 1h 29m
podcasts.apple.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Really enjoyed this podcast with @sheinalew.bsky.social and @dorsaamir.bsky.social on evolution and childhood. Super-smart people talking about a super-interesting topic
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
I have some brilliant news to share! I recently received a DFG-funded Emmy Noether 6-year grant to establish my own group in Germany. I will soon be looking for a PhD student and a research assistant to join the team and investigate how the balance of power is maintained in animal societies.
November 5, 2025 at 4:34 PM
I have some brilliant news to share! I recently received a DFG-funded Emmy Noether 6-year grant to establish my own group in Germany. I will soon be looking for a PhD student and a research assistant to join the team and investigate how the balance of power is maintained in animal societies.
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
I am hiring PhD candidates to study the psychology of attention & technology use at @tilburg-university.bsky.social.
We're looking for motivated & curious scholars with expertise in cognitive psychology and statistics, and offer a friendly work environment with great terms & benefits.
tiu.nu/22989
We're looking for motivated & curious scholars with expertise in cognitive psychology and statistics, and offer a friendly work environment with great terms & benefits.
tiu.nu/22989
October 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I am hiring PhD candidates to study the psychology of attention & technology use at @tilburg-university.bsky.social.
We're looking for motivated & curious scholars with expertise in cognitive psychology and statistics, and offer a friendly work environment with great terms & benefits.
tiu.nu/22989
We're looking for motivated & curious scholars with expertise in cognitive psychology and statistics, and offer a friendly work environment with great terms & benefits.
tiu.nu/22989
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Just 1 week to apply! 4 year @erc.europa.eu funded PhD position working in an interdisciplinary team to study #culturalEvolution as a process of reuse, recombination, and creative re-engineering of past solutions. Details 👉 hmc-lab.com/ERCPhDCultur... 🙏Please share!
November 5, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Just 1 week to apply! 4 year @erc.europa.eu funded PhD position working in an interdisciplinary team to study #culturalEvolution as a process of reuse, recombination, and creative re-engineering of past solutions. Details 👉 hmc-lab.com/ERCPhDCultur... 🙏Please share!
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
🧵 webinar announcement
1/
How can we combine human and machine intelligence to make better medical diagnoses? 🧠🤖
Join HACID and @HumanDx on Nov 12, 17:30 CET for a special webinar on Hybrid Human-AI Collective Intelligence in Medical Diagnostics.
🔗 events.teams.microsoft.com/event/8e607b...
1/
How can we combine human and machine intelligence to make better medical diagnoses? 🧠🤖
Join HACID and @HumanDx on Nov 12, 17:30 CET for a special webinar on Hybrid Human-AI Collective Intelligence in Medical Diagnostics.
🔗 events.teams.microsoft.com/event/8e607b...
November 5, 2025 at 9:29 AM
🧵 webinar announcement
1/
How can we combine human and machine intelligence to make better medical diagnoses? 🧠🤖
Join HACID and @HumanDx on Nov 12, 17:30 CET for a special webinar on Hybrid Human-AI Collective Intelligence in Medical Diagnostics.
🔗 events.teams.microsoft.com/event/8e607b...
1/
How can we combine human and machine intelligence to make better medical diagnoses? 🧠🤖
Join HACID and @HumanDx on Nov 12, 17:30 CET for a special webinar on Hybrid Human-AI Collective Intelligence in Medical Diagnostics.
🔗 events.teams.microsoft.com/event/8e607b...
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Less than a week left to apply!
⭐PhD position available!⭐
Come join us @imprs-qbee.bsky.social to study communication and collective behavior in animal groups! We're looking for someone excited to use computational approaches to tackle biological questions, using our full-group tracking datasets
imprs-qbee.mpg.de/121465/analy...
Come join us @imprs-qbee.bsky.social to study communication and collective behavior in animal groups! We're looking for someone excited to use computational approaches to tackle biological questions, using our full-group tracking datasets
imprs-qbee.mpg.de/121465/analy...
Analysis of communication and collective behavior in animal groups
imprs-qbee.mpg.de
October 26, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Less than a week left to apply!
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Fully-funded 4-year #PhD in Cultural Evolution! Join my @erc.europa.eu project exploring how compression & compositionality drive cultural innovation: hmc-lab.com/ERCPhDCultur...
Apply by Nov 12!
Maybe of interest to folks from #COSMOS2025 or @eslr.bsky.social? Please feel free to share! 🙏
Apply by Nov 12!
Maybe of interest to folks from #COSMOS2025 or @eslr.bsky.social? Please feel free to share! 🙏
ERC funded PhD position on Cultural Evolution
ERC funded PhD position on Cultural Evolution
posted on October 16, 2025
We are currently seeking a highly motivated individual for a ful...
hmc-lab.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Fully-funded 4-year #PhD in Cultural Evolution! Join my @erc.europa.eu project exploring how compression & compositionality drive cultural innovation: hmc-lab.com/ERCPhDCultur...
Apply by Nov 12!
Maybe of interest to folks from #COSMOS2025 or @eslr.bsky.social? Please feel free to share! 🙏
Apply by Nov 12!
Maybe of interest to folks from #COSMOS2025 or @eslr.bsky.social? Please feel free to share! 🙏
The IMPRS LIFE is looking to fill up to three PhD positions.
If you’re interested in working at @arc-mpib.bsky.social with me on topics related to social and collective decision making, and aging, please reach out. Deadline Nov 30: www.imprs-life.mpg.de/11840/how-to...
If you’re interested in working at @arc-mpib.bsky.social with me on topics related to social and collective decision making, and aging, please reach out. Deadline Nov 30: www.imprs-life.mpg.de/11840/how-to...
How to Apply
www.imprs-life.mpg.de
October 23, 2025 at 1:27 PM
The IMPRS LIFE is looking to fill up to three PhD positions.
If you’re interested in working at @arc-mpib.bsky.social with me on topics related to social and collective decision making, and aging, please reach out. Deadline Nov 30: www.imprs-life.mpg.de/11840/how-to...
If you’re interested in working at @arc-mpib.bsky.social with me on topics related to social and collective decision making, and aging, please reach out. Deadline Nov 30: www.imprs-life.mpg.de/11840/how-to...
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Which processes underlie collective intelligence in naturalistic human groups?
In new work led by Valerii Chirkov, we show that payoff selectivity is key in transforming a group of individuals into an intelligent collective 🤝🧠
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7n...
Preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
In new work led by Valerii Chirkov, we show that payoff selectivity is key in transforming a group of individuals into an intelligent collective 🤝🧠
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7n...
Preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
First-Person Perspective of the Voluntary Payoff-Sharing (VP) Condition
YouTube video by Valerii Chirkov
www.youtube.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Which processes underlie collective intelligence in naturalistic human groups?
In new work led by Valerii Chirkov, we show that payoff selectivity is key in transforming a group of individuals into an intelligent collective 🤝🧠
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7n...
Preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
In new work led by Valerii Chirkov, we show that payoff selectivity is key in transforming a group of individuals into an intelligent collective 🤝🧠
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7n...
Preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
💙New paper!💙
How is knowledge transmitted across generations in a foraging society?
With @danielredhead.bsky.social
we found: In BaYaka foragers, long-term skills pass in smaller, sparser networks, while short-term food info circulates broadly & reciprocally
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
How is knowledge transmitted across generations in a foraging society?
With @danielredhead.bsky.social
we found: In BaYaka foragers, long-term skills pass in smaller, sparser networks, while short-term food info circulates broadly & reciprocally
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Transmission networks of long-term and short-term knowledge in a foraging society
Abstract. Cultural transmission across generations is key to cumulative cultural evolution. While several mechanisms—such as vertical, horizontal, and obli
academic.oup.com
September 14, 2025 at 7:52 AM
💙New paper!💙
How is knowledge transmitted across generations in a foraging society?
With @danielredhead.bsky.social
we found: In BaYaka foragers, long-term skills pass in smaller, sparser networks, while short-term food info circulates broadly & reciprocally
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
How is knowledge transmitted across generations in a foraging society?
With @danielredhead.bsky.social
we found: In BaYaka foragers, long-term skills pass in smaller, sparser networks, while short-term food info circulates broadly & reciprocally
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Are you studying animal sociality? Confused about the "non-independence" of social network data: what on earth are they? are they threatening your results? should you attempt to get rid of them?
A thread summarising a part of our new paper (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...).
A thread summarising a part of our new paper (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...).
Five misunderstandings in animal social network analysis
ecoevorxiv.org
September 4, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Are you studying animal sociality? Confused about the "non-independence" of social network data: what on earth are they? are they threatening your results? should you attempt to get rid of them?
A thread summarising a part of our new paper (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...).
A thread summarising a part of our new paper (ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...).
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
🌍 Join us for #HACID Webinar #4: Gender & Diversity in Hybrid Collective Intelligence 🧠🤖
🗓 Sept 29, 2025 | ⏰ 18:00 CEST
Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/71775f...
🗓 Sept 29, 2025 | ⏰ 18:00 CEST
Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/71775f...
September 9, 2025 at 9:51 AM
🌍 Join us for #HACID Webinar #4: Gender & Diversity in Hybrid Collective Intelligence 🧠🤖
🗓 Sept 29, 2025 | ⏰ 18:00 CEST
Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/71775f...
🗓 Sept 29, 2025 | ⏰ 18:00 CEST
Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/71775f...
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Important preprint by @pietronickl.bsky.social @msultan.bsky.social Caedyn Stinson, @fstock.bsky.social Ralph Hertwig @anaskozyreva.bsky.social,
touching so many points to move the misinfo discussion forward, like feedback-loops, systemic factors and rhetoric, great work!
osf.io/preprints/so...
touching so many points to move the misinfo discussion forward, like feedback-loops, systemic factors and rhetoric, great work!
osf.io/preprints/so...
August 14, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Important preprint by @pietronickl.bsky.social @msultan.bsky.social Caedyn Stinson, @fstock.bsky.social Ralph Hertwig @anaskozyreva.bsky.social,
touching so many points to move the misinfo discussion forward, like feedback-loops, systemic factors and rhetoric, great work!
osf.io/preprints/so...
touching so many points to move the misinfo discussion forward, like feedback-loops, systemic factors and rhetoric, great work!
osf.io/preprints/so...
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
New in TiCS w @dgrand.bsky.social @gordpennycook.bsky.social
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
August 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
New in TiCS w @dgrand.bsky.social @gordpennycook.bsky.social
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
It’s been ~10yrs since misinfo research exploded but our paradigms are stuck in the post-2016 “fake news” model
Time for new approaches:
o True/False → Content that misleads
o Belief → Behavior
o Eval interventions in ambiguous settings
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Can we turn a science fiction thought experiment into an actual experiment?
Check out our new @nature.com paper on the "Science Fiction Science" method (summarized by @jfbonnefon.bsky.social below)
Check out our new @nature.com paper on the "Science Fiction Science" method (summarized by @jfbonnefon.bsky.social below)
We need data, not guesses, on how future tech may reshape behavior & society. Our new paper with @azimshariff.bsky.social and @iyadrahwan.bsky.social out in @nature.com spells out a framework we call the ❝science fiction science method❞ (sci-fi-sci) +
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The science fiction science method - Nature
The ‘science fiction science’ method simulates future technologies and collects quantitative data on the attitudes and behaviours of participants in various future scenarios, with the aim of predictin...
www.nature.com
August 6, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Can we turn a science fiction thought experiment into an actual experiment?
Check out our new @nature.com paper on the "Science Fiction Science" method (summarized by @jfbonnefon.bsky.social below)
Check out our new @nature.com paper on the "Science Fiction Science" method (summarized by @jfbonnefon.bsky.social below)
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Applications are open for SFI's 2026 Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships
If you’ve recently earned a Ph.D. in any scientific field and want to pursue independent, transdisciplinary research, consider applying.
Deadline: October 1, 2025
Apply here: santafe.edu/sfifellowship
If you’ve recently earned a Ph.D. in any scientific field and want to pursue independent, transdisciplinary research, consider applying.
Deadline: October 1, 2025
Apply here: santafe.edu/sfifellowship
July 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Applications are open for SFI's 2026 Complexity Postdoctoral Fellowships
If you’ve recently earned a Ph.D. in any scientific field and want to pursue independent, transdisciplinary research, consider applying.
Deadline: October 1, 2025
Apply here: santafe.edu/sfifellowship
If you’ve recently earned a Ph.D. in any scientific field and want to pursue independent, transdisciplinary research, consider applying.
Deadline: October 1, 2025
Apply here: santafe.edu/sfifellowship
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Online Now: Reward is enough for social learning
Reward is enough for social learning
Adaptive behaviour relies on selective social learning, yet the mechanisms underlying this capacity remain debated. A new account demonstrates that key strategies can emerge through reward-based learning of social features, explaining the widely observed flexibility of social learning and illuminating the cognitive basis of cultural evolution.
dlvr.it
July 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Online Now: Reward is enough for social learning
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
Thrilled that our paper on the mechanisms underlying social learning strategies is out! First big paper from my @erc.europa.eu & @kawresearch.bsky.social funded group. More to come! I'm currently looking to recruit two post docs, get in touch if you find this line of research interesting.
Through experiments and simulations, this study shows how individuals learn to learn from others, dynamically shaping the processes involved in cultural evolution. @davidschultner.bsky.social @bjornlindstrom.bsky.social
@lucasmolleman.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@lucasmolleman.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Feature-based reward learning shapes human social learning strategies - Nature Human Behaviour
This research advances a mechanistic reward learning account of social learning strategies. Through experiments and simulations, it shows how individuals learn to learn from others, dynamically shapin...
www.nature.com
July 23, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Thrilled that our paper on the mechanisms underlying social learning strategies is out! First big paper from my @erc.europa.eu & @kawresearch.bsky.social funded group. More to come! I'm currently looking to recruit two post docs, get in touch if you find this line of research interesting.
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
The call for a fellowship at the College for Life Sciences @wiko-berlin.bsky.social is now open. That's an academic paradise! Apply: call.wiko-berlin.de/procedure/52...
Wiko Application Platform
call.wiko-berlin.de
July 17, 2025 at 10:05 AM
The call for a fellowship at the College for Life Sciences @wiko-berlin.bsky.social is now open. That's an academic paradise! Apply: call.wiko-berlin.de/procedure/52...
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
"Individual differences in speed–accuracy trade-off influence social decision-making in dyads"
🚨Our paper has been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
w/ Alan Tump @alantump.bsky.social, Ralf Kurvers @ralfkurvers.bsky.social
@royalsocietypublishing.org
1/ 🧵👇
🚨Our paper has been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
w/ Alan Tump @alantump.bsky.social, Ralf Kurvers @ralfkurvers.bsky.social
@royalsocietypublishing.org
1/ 🧵👇
July 16, 2025 at 9:34 AM
"Individual differences in speed–accuracy trade-off influence social decision-making in dyads"
🚨Our paper has been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
w/ Alan Tump @alantump.bsky.social, Ralf Kurvers @ralfkurvers.bsky.social
@royalsocietypublishing.org
1/ 🧵👇
🚨Our paper has been published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
w/ Alan Tump @alantump.bsky.social, Ralf Kurvers @ralfkurvers.bsky.social
@royalsocietypublishing.org
1/ 🧵👇
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
🚀Join our team @tuda.bsky.social ! 🚀
I'm looking for 3 PhDs & 1 Postdoc for my @erc.europa.eu project “C4: Compositional Compression in Cognition and Culture” to study learning across individuals, teams, and cultural timescales
👉 PhD: hmc-lab.com/ERC_PhDs.html
👉 Postdoc: hmc-lab.com/ERC_Postdoc....
I'm looking for 3 PhDs & 1 Postdoc for my @erc.europa.eu project “C4: Compositional Compression in Cognition and Culture” to study learning across individuals, teams, and cultural timescales
👉 PhD: hmc-lab.com/ERC_PhDs.html
👉 Postdoc: hmc-lab.com/ERC_Postdoc....
June 11, 2025 at 8:00 AM
🚀Join our team @tuda.bsky.social ! 🚀
I'm looking for 3 PhDs & 1 Postdoc for my @erc.europa.eu project “C4: Compositional Compression in Cognition and Culture” to study learning across individuals, teams, and cultural timescales
👉 PhD: hmc-lab.com/ERC_PhDs.html
👉 Postdoc: hmc-lab.com/ERC_Postdoc....
I'm looking for 3 PhDs & 1 Postdoc for my @erc.europa.eu project “C4: Compositional Compression in Cognition and Culture” to study learning across individuals, teams, and cultural timescales
👉 PhD: hmc-lab.com/ERC_PhDs.html
👉 Postdoc: hmc-lab.com/ERC_Postdoc....
Reposted by Ralf Kurvers
(1/4) Ever wondered what tech policy might look like if it were informed by research on collective intelligence and complex systems? 🧠🧑💻
Join @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @lukethorburn.com, and myself in San Diego on Aug 4th for the Collective Intelligence x Tech Policy workshop at @acmci.bsky.social!
Join @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @lukethorburn.com, and myself in San Diego on Aug 4th for the Collective Intelligence x Tech Policy workshop at @acmci.bsky.social!
May 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
(1/4) Ever wondered what tech policy might look like if it were informed by research on collective intelligence and complex systems? 🧠🧑💻
Join @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @lukethorburn.com, and myself in San Diego on Aug 4th for the Collective Intelligence x Tech Policy workshop at @acmci.bsky.social!
Join @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @lukethorburn.com, and myself in San Diego on Aug 4th for the Collective Intelligence x Tech Policy workshop at @acmci.bsky.social!