Dimitris Xygalatas
@xygalatas.bsky.social
Experimental anthropologist, cognitive scientist, dad, author of Ritual: How seemingly senseless acts make life worth living
New paper published with Claire White and
Matilde Hernu on the self-signaling effects of attending Pope Francis’s Funeral www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Matilde Hernu on the self-signaling effects of attending Pope Francis’s Funeral www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Physical discomfort predicts parochial altruism during Pope Francis’s funeral
Large-scale public rituals often impose significant physical and psychological burdens, yet are widespread across cultures. Evolutionary theories ofte…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:44 PM
New paper published with Claire White and
Matilde Hernu on the self-signaling effects of attending Pope Francis’s Funeral www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Matilde Hernu on the self-signaling effects of attending Pope Francis’s Funeral www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
My obituary for one of my childhood (and adulthood) heroes, Jane Goodall. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...
Jane Goodall Changed How We See Ourselves
She spent her life among chimpanzees, but in the process, Jane Goodall transformed our understanding of what it means to be human.
www.psychologytoday.com
October 2, 2025 at 1:21 PM
My obituary for one of my childhood (and adulthood) heroes, Jane Goodall. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...
@davidwengrow.bsky.social’s talk was so packed at the Brain Bar today was so packed I literally couldn’t fit through the door - I had to pull some special favors to enter from backstage
September 18, 2025 at 8:19 PM
@davidwengrow.bsky.social’s talk was so packed at the Brain Bar today was so packed I literally couldn’t fit through the door - I had to pull some special favors to enter from backstage
But it gets more nuanced over time...
August 8, 2025 at 12:51 AM
But it gets more nuanced over time...
Reposted by Dimitris Xygalatas
Vassar College is hiring a tenure track assistant professor in cognitive science. vassar.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Vassar...
I'll be at #CogSci2025 - happy to chat about the position and life at Vassar.
I'll be at #CogSci2025 - happy to chat about the position and life at Vassar.
Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science, Tenure Track
Department Cognitive Science Vassar College is dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees and welcomes applications from individuals of all backgrounds. Deci...
vassar.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
July 29, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Vassar College is hiring a tenure track assistant professor in cognitive science. vassar.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Vassar...
I'll be at #CogSci2025 - happy to chat about the position and life at Vassar.
I'll be at #CogSci2025 - happy to chat about the position and life at Vassar.
Reposted by Dimitris Xygalatas
“Could mundane, often thankless tasks — cycling, tree-planting, recycling — be reframed not as chores, but as rituals of care & connection that inspire a deeper commitment to environmental stewardship?”
— @xygalatas.bsky.social
— @xygalatas.bsky.social
To Save Nature, Make It Sacred | NOEMA
Beyond science and policy, the key to protecting Earth’s most vulnerable ecosystems may lie in the human capacity to treat certain places as sacred.
www.noemamag.com
July 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM
“Could mundane, often thankless tasks — cycling, tree-planting, recycling — be reframed not as chores, but as rituals of care & connection that inspire a deeper commitment to environmental stewardship?”
— @xygalatas.bsky.social
— @xygalatas.bsky.social
Just out in PNAS!
Our new study finds that a pregame ritual created stronger emotional synchrony among football fans than the game itself.
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Read: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#Science #Rituals #Emotion #Football #CollectiveBehavior
Our new study finds that a pregame ritual created stronger emotional synchrony among football fans than the game itself.
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Read: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#Science #Rituals #Emotion #Football #CollectiveBehavior
June 9, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Just out in PNAS!
Our new study finds that a pregame ritual created stronger emotional synchrony among football fans than the game itself.
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Read: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#Science #Rituals #Emotion #Football #CollectiveBehavior
Our new study finds that a pregame ritual created stronger emotional synchrony among football fans than the game itself.
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Read: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
#Science #Rituals #Emotion #Football #CollectiveBehavior
Who needs fancy R packages for graphs, when you can plot them in the sand? Many thanks to @martinlangcz.bsky.social for teaching today's class at our field school in Mauritius
May 24, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Who needs fancy R packages for graphs, when you can plot them in the sand? Many thanks to @martinlangcz.bsky.social for teaching today's class at our field school in Mauritius
Today, the UK has decided to comply with international law and hand the last British colony in Africa, the Chagos islands, back to Mauritius. On this historic occasion, we were honored to meet with the Chagossian community and share their excitement and hope for a better future.
May 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Today, the UK has decided to comply with international law and hand the last British colony in Africa, the Chagos islands, back to Mauritius. On this historic occasion, we were honored to meet with the Chagossian community and share their excitement and hope for a better future.
bringing the lab into the field...
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
May 22, 2025 at 11:54 AM
bringing the lab into the field...
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Check out our new pre-print, reporting findings that the cost of attending Pope Francis's funeral predicts parochial altruism, supporting theories of self-signaling osf.io/preprints/os...
May 14, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Check out our new pre-print, reporting findings that the cost of attending Pope Francis's funeral predicts parochial altruism, supporting theories of self-signaling osf.io/preprints/os...
Very excited to see this panel on my book on #Ritual in JCSR, with contributions from an amazing group of scholars in the #Cog&EvoScienceOfReligion! journal.equinoxpub.com/JCSR/index
Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion
Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion is the official journal of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion (IACSR).
journal.equinoxpub.com
April 30, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Very excited to see this panel on my book on #Ritual in JCSR, with contributions from an amazing group of scholars in the #Cog&EvoScienceOfReligion! journal.equinoxpub.com/JCSR/index
Testing wearable equipment by dancing at the Experimental Anthropology Lab. Who said science is not fun?
April 15, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Testing wearable equipment by dancing at the Experimental Anthropology Lab. Who said science is not fun?
Our lab is featured in several parts of the latest National Geographic special issue on religion. Here, our grad student, Sevgi Demiroglu, talks about her fieldwork in Toraja, Indonesia
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconn.bsky.social
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconn.bsky.social
April 10, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Our lab is featured in several parts of the latest National Geographic special issue on religion. Here, our grad student, Sevgi Demiroglu, talks about her fieldwork in Toraja, Indonesia
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconn.bsky.social
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
@uconn.bsky.social
The only humans in the British Indian Ocean Territory (which is not a country) are the personnel of a US military base. They are imposing tariffs on themselves!
Trump is imposing a 10% tariff on the Heard and McDonald Islands.
The Heard and McDonald Islands are uninhabited.
The Heard and McDonald Islands are uninhabited.
April 3, 2025 at 12:57 AM
The only humans in the British Indian Ocean Territory (which is not a country) are the personnel of a US military base. They are imposing tariffs on themselves!
I asked Chat GPT: "based on what you know about me make an image about what you think my life looks like". I think our concerns about AI taking over may have been exaggerated...
March 31, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I asked Chat GPT: "based on what you know about me make an image about what you think my life looks like". I think our concerns about AI taking over may have been exaggerated...
How do people band together in the face of disaster? See our latest paper in Nature Scientific Reports, led by our graduate student Sevgi Demiroglu!
shorturl.at/boQ3d
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
shorturl.at/boQ3d
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
March 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
How do people band together in the face of disaster? See our latest paper in Nature Scientific Reports, led by our graduate student Sevgi Demiroglu!
shorturl.at/boQ3d
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
shorturl.at/boQ3d
@uconnresearch.bsky.social
Reposted by Dimitris Xygalatas
1/ 🧵 ✨ BRAND sparkling new CCE paper on how beliefs in witchcraft enforce social norms 🧙♀️✨
What role does witchcraft play in regulating social behavior? New research from @aiyanakoka.bsky.social and Co examines how beliefs in witchcraft and envy shape norms around social conduct in Mauritius👇
What role does witchcraft play in regulating social behavior? New research from @aiyanakoka.bsky.social and Co examines how beliefs in witchcraft and envy shape norms around social conduct in Mauritius👇
Witchcraft, Envy, and Norm Enforcement in Mauritius
link.springer.com
January 23, 2025 at 10:59 AM
1/ 🧵 ✨ BRAND sparkling new CCE paper on how beliefs in witchcraft enforce social norms 🧙♀️✨
What role does witchcraft play in regulating social behavior? New research from @aiyanakoka.bsky.social and Co examines how beliefs in witchcraft and envy shape norms around social conduct in Mauritius👇
What role does witchcraft play in regulating social behavior? New research from @aiyanakoka.bsky.social and Co examines how beliefs in witchcraft and envy shape norms around social conduct in Mauritius👇
On my long commute, I listen to a lot of non-fiction. Here are some of my favorites from 2024: shepherd.com/bboy/2024/f/...
January 11, 2025 at 1:59 PM
On my long commute, I listen to a lot of non-fiction. Here are some of my favorites from 2024: shepherd.com/bboy/2024/f/...
My IRB asked me to add "time" under "potential risks and iInconveniences involved in the study". So, the people meant to ensure the ethical treatment of participants consider them to be so dumb that they can't understand that time passes by unless they see it spelled out on a disclaimer...
January 10, 2025 at 9:25 PM
My IRB asked me to add "time" under "potential risks and iInconveniences involved in the study". So, the people meant to ensure the ethical treatment of participants consider them to be so dumb that they can't understand that time passes by unless they see it spelled out on a disclaimer...
Reposted by Dimitris Xygalatas
An incredible opportunity for the right person:
The Santa Fe Institute is seeking applications for full-time resident faculty positions at all academic levels
For me, this has been the best possible job ever.
More info here: santafe.edu/about/jobs/r...
The Santa Fe Institute is seeking applications for full-time resident faculty positions at all academic levels
For me, this has been the best possible job ever.
More info here: santafe.edu/about/jobs/r...
sfiscience
SFI seeks applications for full-time, 12-month resident faculty positions at all academic levels.
santafe.edu
January 8, 2025 at 7:39 PM
An incredible opportunity for the right person:
The Santa Fe Institute is seeking applications for full-time resident faculty positions at all academic levels
For me, this has been the best possible job ever.
More info here: santafe.edu/about/jobs/r...
The Santa Fe Institute is seeking applications for full-time resident faculty positions at all academic levels
For me, this has been the best possible job ever.
More info here: santafe.edu/about/jobs/r...
'Tis the season for this from the archive:
www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/th...
www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/th...
What’s the Point of Holiday Gifts?
Gift exchanges may seem wasteful and impractical. But as social scientific research reveals, the costs and benefits of gift-giving aren’t what they seem.
www.psychologytoday.com
December 24, 2024 at 8:21 PM
'Tis the season for this from the archive:
www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/th...
www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/th...
In a new paper published in the journal Religions, we use cultural domain analysis to explore socioeconomic variation in motivations for ritual practice
www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15...
www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15...
Socioeconomic Variation in Motivations for Ritual Practice
This paper investigates socioeconomic variation in motivations for ritual practices among Mauritian Hindus. Using cultural domain analysis, we explore individuals’ reported reasons for engaging in a v...
www.mdpi.com
December 21, 2024 at 2:24 PM
In a new paper published in the journal Religions, we use cultural domain analysis to explore socioeconomic variation in motivations for ritual practice
www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15...
www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/15...