Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast)

Intentions be damned! Whats matter is selection! In this episode, Paul Smaldino (UC Merced) takes us on a tour of his work on social signals, social identities, the perverse incentives of science, the stupidity and yet usefulness of models, and so much else. (Paul also shows us his small model of the solar system in the background).  More about Paul Smaldino: https://smaldino.com/wp/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=AwHfbP0AAAAJ&hl=en https://smalldinosaurs.bandcamp.com/album/dad-songs  

Consciousness: is it really that hard of a problem? In this episode, we talk to our favorite mechanistically-minded (and possibly clearest) thinker about consciousness we've had the pleasure to stumble across, Michael Graziano (Princeton). Topics include why consciousness has been so hard to study, what it is, and what future (evolutionary) work on consciousness would look like.  More about Michael Graziano: https://grazianolab.princeton.edu/ https://pni.princeton.edu/people/michael-graziano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Graziano https://www.press53.com/michael-s-a-graziano https://www.amazon.com/stores/B.-B.-Wurge/author/B001JS4X0U?

Luke Glowacki, an anthropologist focusing on intergroup relationships and the evolution of peace, shares fascinating insights on the evolution of human behavior. He reframes peace as an evolutionary puzzle, emphasizing cultural technologies that facilitate cooperation. Glowacki discusses the distribution of conflict and compares human raids to phenomena observed in species like mongooses. He also highlights the challenges of sustaining peace in tribal contexts and the vital role of moral narratives in enabling or preventing violence. Plus, learn about his impactful Omo Valley Research Project.

Free will: Do we really have it? And what is it, exactly?  In this episode, co-host David Pietraszewski takes the role of guest and explains his recent evolutionary, adaptationist approach to the problem of free will, explaining what people are talking about when they talk about free will, why different people have different opinions about whether it really exists in light of science, and what an evolutionary approach has to say about how to study it in the first place. If you love or hate the study of free will--or think it is a forever-unsolvable mystery-- then this episode is for you!   More about David Pietraszewski: https://cal.psych.ucsb.edu/david-pietraszewski https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=rGFYm8AAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao  

Why do we care about delaying gratification? Why do we judge others for moral failings that have no apparent consequences on us? In this episode, we talk to Lêo Fitouchi (IAST Toulouse) about all things moral, including guzzling french fries.  More about Léo Fitouchi:  https://sites.google.com/view/leofitouchi/home  

Poverty? Universal basic income? Do we really crave sugar because of evolutionary mismatch? How do you train for an 800meter and a 100K running race? We cover this and much more with Dan Nettle (Jean Nicod).    More about Dan Nettle: https://www.danielnettle.eu/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=rl3kkv4AAAAJ&hl=en

How do evolutionary behavioral scientists think about the interplay between our psychology and culture? What causes some cultural norms to persist and spread? Do non-Western combatants in war have something like PTSD? In this episode, we explore all of these questions and more with Sarah Mathew (ASU), who talks about her work with the Turkana, and her long-term interest in the interplay between our evolved psychology of cooperation and violence, and the social norms and institutions that push and pull on our evolved psychology.    More about Sarah Mathew: https://search.asu.edu/profile/2208359 https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FqTZawEAAAAJ&hl=en  

Hugo Mercier, a researcher at Institut Jean Nicod, specializes in reasoning and epistemic vigilance. He explains how reasoning evolved for social purposes, highlighting its role in persuasion and argument evaluation. Mercier dives into biases like confirmation bias and the social dynamics that influence justifications. He also discusses the importance of disagreement in sharpening arguments and introduces the concept of epistemic vigilance to assess information. With insights on cultural narratives and the interplay of intuitive and reflective beliefs, this conversation is a deep dive into the cognitive processes behind our reasoning.

What is love? What is regret? What are we missing in our understanding of mating? In this episode we talk to Cari Goetz (Cal State San Bernardino) about the (still largely unexplored) emotions surrounding romance, sex, commitment, and parenting. Topics include: the field's current overemphasis on the early stages of mating, the cultural propaganda surrounding love and related emotions, deliberate ignorance about infidelity, the rehearsal of the social consequences of dating earlier in development, mate ejection strategies, and what love might be at a functional/software level.  More about Cari Goetz: https://www.csusb.edu/profile/cgoetz https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BIKau3cAAAAJ&hl=en

What is exploitation? Why does it happen? And how can we better understand what makes it more or less likely? In this episode, we talk to Hannes Rusch (Max Planck Crime, Security, & Law) about all things exploitation and group-y. Other topics include jobs, mopping, scapegoating, bravery, and how much people care about their group identities.    More about Hannes Rusch:  https://hrusch.de/ https://csl.mpg.de/en/hannes-rusch   Shownotes: Metallica "Man Unkind": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUVr2xnGIEo Exploitation: Theory and Practice https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_3655768_1/component/file_3655769/content