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
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)
Reposted by David W Lawson
Thrilled to see Raewyn and my new book up at Polity. Easily the greatest experience and honor of my career to work on this book with my academic idol. We have done so many wonderful things in this edition. I hope others love it as much as we have loved writing it. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
Gender: In A World Perspective
Gender: In A World Perspective, How can we understand gender in the contemporary world? What psychological differences now exist between women and men? How are masculinities and femininities made? And...
www.politybooks.com
October 24, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Thrilled to see Raewyn and my new book up at Polity. Easily the greatest experience and honor of my career to work on this book with my academic idol. We have done so many wonderful things in this edition. I hope others love it as much as we have loved writing it. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
Reposted by David W Lawson
Have been looking forward to seeing this come out. The fundamental population problem is: what is a population?
Excited to finally have this article out with @robingnelson.blacksky.app. Although we have nominally centered populations as our unit of evolutionary analysis in biological anthropology, we have no coherent understanding of what a population is. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
The Population Problem: Biological Anthropology and the Many Definitions of a Population
Objectives With a focus on variability, biological anthropology has nominally centered the population as a key unit of analysis and node of evolutionary change. In this paper, we examine constructio...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Have been looking forward to seeing this come out. The fundamental population problem is: what is a population?
Reposted by David W Lawson
Tho I would say we actually don’t have a good handle on the child or (adult) health impacts! The large majority of studies have serious methodological flaws & we shouldn’t anticipate effects to be the same across contexts or varieties of polygamy. www.demographic-research.org/articles/vol... 1/3
Demographic Research - Polygynous marriage and child health in sub-Saharan Africa: What is the evidence for harm? (Volume 39 - Article 6 | Pages 177–208)
Volume 39 - Article 6 | Pages 177–208
www.demographic-research.org
October 23, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Tho I would say we actually don’t have a good handle on the child or (adult) health impacts! The large majority of studies have serious methodological flaws & we shouldn’t anticipate effects to be the same across contexts or varieties of polygamy. www.demographic-research.org/articles/vol... 1/3
⭐️ 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
Great piece by @davidwlawson.bsky.social highlighting three new papers on polygamy. It's complicated but the effects aren't what you think: polygamy usually doesn't create "excess" men, usually doesn't disadvantage child health, and can even be an economic hedge!
theconversation.com/rethinking-p...
theconversation.com/rethinking-p...
October 22, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Great piece by @davidwlawson.bsky.social highlighting three new papers on polygamy. It's complicated but the effects aren't what you think: polygamy usually doesn't create "excess" men, usually doesn't disadvantage child health, and can even be an economic hedge!
theconversation.com/rethinking-p...
theconversation.com/rethinking-p...
New paper out today with Zhian Chen.
We argue that modern intensive parenting is not only exhausting for parents, but in some cases disrupts healthy child development.
What is 'overparenting'? And can evolutionary theory help us understand how we got here?
academic.oup.com/emph/advance...
We argue that modern intensive parenting is not only exhausting for parents, but in some cases disrupts healthy child development.
What is 'overparenting'? And can evolutionary theory help us understand how we got here?
academic.oup.com/emph/advance...
When parental care hurts: Extended parental care and the evolution of overparenting
Abstract. In recent years, childrearing in high-income countries has become described as ‘relentless’ in its demands on parents. In response to growing del
academic.oup.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
New paper out today with Zhian Chen.
We argue that modern intensive parenting is not only exhausting for parents, but in some cases disrupts healthy child development.
What is 'overparenting'? And can evolutionary theory help us understand how we got here?
academic.oup.com/emph/advance...
We argue that modern intensive parenting is not only exhausting for parents, but in some cases disrupts healthy child development.
What is 'overparenting'? And can evolutionary theory help us understand how we got here?
academic.oup.com/emph/advance...
Reposted by David W Lawson
New paper out on the important role of social learning in breastfeeding! academic.oup.com/emph/article...
Social learning is critical to breastfeeding success: evidence from rural Namibian pastoralists
AbstractBackground and objectives. Lactation is one of the defining features of mammals, yet many humans struggle with breastfeeding. One reason for this i
academic.oup.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:21 PM
New paper out on the important role of social learning in breastfeeding! academic.oup.com/emph/article...
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
October 21, 2025 at 4:17 PM
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...
Reposted by David W Lawson
This week we talk to anthropologist Karen Kramer about our unique reproductive strategy as humans, and what it means for childhood, work, and the social contexts our minds evolved to be in.
youtu.be/u4GhmF9GovE
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-qxxr5...
youtu.be/u4GhmF9GovE
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-qxxr5...
Cooperative Breeding with Karen Kramer
YouTube video by Evolutionary Psychology (The Podcast)
youtu.be
September 30, 2025 at 12:54 PM
This week we talk to anthropologist Karen Kramer about our unique reproductive strategy as humans, and what it means for childhood, work, and the social contexts our minds evolved to be in.
youtu.be/u4GhmF9GovE
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-qxxr5...
youtu.be/u4GhmF9GovE
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-qxxr5...
Reposted by David W Lawson
🚨 AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
For the first time, EHBEA is giving an award for this members who excel in public outreach and communication of the evolutionary human sciences
📣 📣 📣
Deadline: December 19, 2025
Check the form below 👇
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
For the first time, EHBEA is giving an award for this members who excel in public outreach and communication of the evolutionary human sciences
📣 📣 📣
Deadline: December 19, 2025
Check the form below 👇
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
EHBEA-Public-Communication-Award-nomination-form 2026.docx
2026 EHBEA Excellence in Public Communication award Nomination Form Please submit this application form by e-mail to the EHBEA Secretary ehbea.secretary@gmail.com Next Deadline: 5pm (GMT), 19th DEC...
docs.google.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:51 AM
🚨 AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
For the first time, EHBEA is giving an award for this members who excel in public outreach and communication of the evolutionary human sciences
📣 📣 📣
Deadline: December 19, 2025
Check the form below 👇
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
For the first time, EHBEA is giving an award for this members who excel in public outreach and communication of the evolutionary human sciences
📣 📣 📣
Deadline: December 19, 2025
Check the form below 👇
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by David W Lawson
Whoop, whoop! The new queer wildlife documentary 'Second Nature,' narrated by the inspirational Elliot Page, will premiere in New York on Saturday. 🐠🏳️⚧️🐧🌈🐘
It looks awesome; check out the teaser. Hopefully it will be available in the UK soon.
www.secondnaturedoc.com #lgbtq #nature #film #PrideInSTEM
It looks awesome; check out the teaser. Hopefully it will be available in the UK soon.
www.secondnaturedoc.com #lgbtq #nature #film #PrideInSTEM
Second Nature — A documentary about everything you didn’t learn in high school biology.
Debunking myths that females are “inferior” and being queer is “unnatural,” Second Nature follows trailblazing trans Evolutionary Biologist Dr. Joan Roughgarden as she meets other groundbreaking scien...
www.secondnaturedoc.com
October 16, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Whoop, whoop! The new queer wildlife documentary 'Second Nature,' narrated by the inspirational Elliot Page, will premiere in New York on Saturday. 🐠🏳️⚧️🐧🌈🐘
It looks awesome; check out the teaser. Hopefully it will be available in the UK soon.
www.secondnaturedoc.com #lgbtq #nature #film #PrideInSTEM
It looks awesome; check out the teaser. Hopefully it will be available in the UK soon.
www.secondnaturedoc.com #lgbtq #nature #film #PrideInSTEM
Reposted by David W Lawson
Spread the word: I'm looking to recruit a PhD student for Fall 2026 to @ucsb.bsky.social! Reach out if you are applying this cycle and hoping to study infant and child social cognition, specifically expectations about friendship and/or groups. Bonus: live in paradise! And.. 1/3
October 2, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Spread the word: I'm looking to recruit a PhD student for Fall 2026 to @ucsb.bsky.social! Reach out if you are applying this cycle and hoping to study infant and child social cognition, specifically expectations about friendship and/or groups. Bonus: live in paradise! And.. 1/3
Reposted by David W Lawson
🚨 AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
EHEBA is calling for the Service to the Community Award 🙌
Do not hesitate to nominate someone that you know has contributed in the strengthening of our community beyond their research!
Deadline: December 19th, 2025
Here is the form👇
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
EHEBA is calling for the Service to the Community Award 🙌
Do not hesitate to nominate someone that you know has contributed in the strengthening of our community beyond their research!
Deadline: December 19th, 2025
Here is the form👇
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
2026 service noimination form.doc
2026 EHBEA Services to the Community award Nomination Form Please submit this application form by e-mail to the EHBEA Secretary ehbea.secretary@gmail.com Next Deadline: 5pm (GMT), 19th DECEMBER 20...
docs.google.com
October 13, 2025 at 7:16 AM
🚨 AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
EHEBA is calling for the Service to the Community Award 🙌
Do not hesitate to nominate someone that you know has contributed in the strengthening of our community beyond their research!
Deadline: December 19th, 2025
Here is the form👇
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
EHEBA is calling for the Service to the Community Award 🙌
Do not hesitate to nominate someone that you know has contributed in the strengthening of our community beyond their research!
Deadline: December 19th, 2025
Here is the form👇
docs.google.com/document/d/1...