Congratulations to Laith Al-Shawaf, winner of the 2026 Evolution in the Public Eye Award! @laithalshawaf.bsky.social's prolific science communication, podcasting, & debunking of misconceptions make him a leading voice in explaining the complexities of evolutionary psychology to a worldwide audience.
Not sure how I missed this post the first time, but everyone loves a walk down memory lane.
Deadline extended for this great award. Nominate a deserving science communicator (academic or not).
Too cold this winter? Get a warm fuzzy feeling by nominating outstanding communicators of human evolutionary science for the 2026 Evolution in the Public Eye award! Self-nominations allowed too. Submissions are open until Jan 31 at: forms.gle/VXJgczHA1irD...
Considering a #psychology #PhD? University of Michigan’s (free!) online Diversity Recruitment Weekend (Mar 27–28) connects you with UM faculty & grad students. Strengthen your apps & meet with #faculty, including in the #Brain&Behavior area! Apply by Jan 28: lsa.umich.edu/psych/divers...
Bored during the holidays? Mis/disinformation about evolutionary science keeping you up at night? Recognize efforts to correct the record and spread cheer by nominating a deserving person for the 2026 Evolution in the Public Eye award! Open to nominations worldwide.
forms.gle/tZi87Y2KBJjg...
Want to recognize someone who has gone above and beyond in communicating and countering misinformation about human evolutionary science? Nominate them for the EHAP 2026 Evolution in the Public Eye award! Nominations are now open (until Jan 31) at: sites.lsa.umich.edu/ehap/evoluti...
The video from the inaugural Evolution in the Public Eye award ceremony is now up! See Ed Hagen's award acceptance and lecture here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyDI...
If you’re in Ann Arbor on Oct 24th, come out to the library for the first Evolution in the Public Eye award address featuring Ed Hagen. Refreshments provided!
Very excited to announce the inaugural Evolution in the Public Eye Award Ceremony and Lecture. Our first winner, Ed Hagen, will be speaking about "The Evolution of 'Recreational' Drug Use" on Oct. 24 @ 5:30pm at the Ann Arbor District Library. More info: sites.lsa.umich.edu/ehap/evoluti...
Coverage of our recent study about disgust and religiosity (work with @karbeau.bsky.social and Jaime Palmer-Hague) by @psypost.bsky.social. Check it out!
www.psypost.org/religiosity-...
Postdoc Opening | University of Arizona
The SPECIEs Lab is hiring a 3-year postdoc.
Focus: interdependence, cooperation, fieldwork w/ the Mayangna (Nicaragua), cross-cultural surveys, experiments.
🔗
A new piece in @psypost.bsky.social on our recent study published in Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology. Check it out!
Why does this matter?
In addition to testing ideas about psychological universality, these shared beliefs could shape interpersonal reactions like avoidance and stigma as well as affect trust and compliance with public health messaging.
See the full paper here: authors.elsevier.com/a/1l7WX3AAzz...
Cross-cultural consistency was extremely high in this ordering of senses (around 95%). When differences did appear, they were associated with a geospatial flourishing index (a combination of population density, pathogen prevalence, human development, and latitude).
When imagining a flu outbreak, the same pattern emerged globally:
Sight > Hearing > Touch > Smell > Taste
People also reported using “safer” senses—those requiring less physical proximity—more than expected, even when they believed other senses might be more effective.
Do you think you can tell if someone is sick with a contagious disease? What sensory information do people think is useful for detecting sickness in others — and is this universal across cultures?
Our team of 115 researchers surveyed over 19,000 people in 58 countries. Here's what we found 👇
This project was one of the first that Wilson proposed in grad school, and I think is a testament to his insight and perseverance (not to mention being a fine piece of work!).
Hi Max, I’ll ask Kaelyn who led the work to get in touch with you.
I'll be giving talks on infection psychology at the Evo preconference and in a main conference symposium with @pdurkee.bsky.social, @bengelbart.bsky.social, and Oliver Sng on "Universality and variation in social judgments across societies." Come by and check it all out!
Lots of lab member content at #SPSP2025! Posters from @kaelynsabree.bsky.social on "Ecology-driven Stereotypes," Savannah Adams on "Moral Judgments of Concealers of Infectious Illness," and Nicole Li on "Cultural Variations in Emotion Regulation through the Body: the Role of Cognitive Styles"...
Join EHAP tomorrow for our inaugural 2025 speaker - Manvir Singh. Looking forward to kicking off the series this year with a fantastic guest.
Starter pack for evolutionary behavioral science! I know I am missing many ppl working in this area. Please add yourself and your colleagues!
go.bsky.app/Rt4Kh26
The chaos from Washington in the last week has made travel planning impossible for many scientists, so the International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health meeting is allowing submission of talk abstracts until Feb 28. 🧪 #EvMed @evmed.bsky.social @evmed.bsky.social evmed.org
We’re transitioning the University of Michigan EHAP account to Bluesky! Follow if you’re interested in evolution and behavior, and stay tuned for an announcement about our Winter speaker series. umehap.bsky.social
Feeling a bit ingroupy these days? A little open to extreme punishments for certain crimes? A little down on sibling incest? Maybe living near family (or seeing them at the holidays) is shaping your psychology. New paper on the ecology of relatedness: psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...