Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast)

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  

Are humans designed to be monogamous? Polygamous? In this episode, we talk to Brooke Scelza (UCLA) about her work with the Himba and the complex web of social norms at play in that society and what it can teach us about our evolved psychology. Other topics include parental investment, the state of cross-talk between evolutionary anthropology and psychology, and the sometimes perverse incentives in science and the resulting replication crisis. If you think you do (or do not) understand mating markets and social norms, then this episode is for you.    More about Brooke Schelza: https://bscelza.weebly.com/ https://anthro.ucla.edu/person/brooke-scelza/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v8E5934AAAAJ&hl=en  

Are mothers the evolutionary crucible of leadership psychology? And is leadership more misunderstood and cryptic than we might think? In this episode, we talk to Zach Garfield (UM6P, Morocco) about all things lead-y and follow-y, and the new and amazing Omo Valley Research Project.  More about Zach Garfield: https://zhgarfield.github.io/ The Omo Valley Research Project (with Luke Glowacki) https://www.omovalleyresearchproject.org/  

What is cultural diffusion, why do need models of cultural change and distance, and what is on Bret's whiteboard? In this episode, we do a deep on how cultural change and distance are measured and studied with Bret Beheim (Max Planck for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig). Other topics include the local norms surrounding red lights and the evergreen game of "go".    More about Bret Beheim: https://babeheim.com/ https://www.eva.mpg.de/ecology/staff/bret-beheim/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=V6Ea-MkAAAAJ&hl=en