Science & the Big Questions

Meet the Other Social Influencers of the Animal Kingdom

Culture, once considered exclusive to humans, turns out to be widespread in nature.

The New York Times

Topics: Animal Studies Cultural Evolution Human Uniqueness Social Learning Social Networks

The Hidden World of Whale Culture

From singing competitions to food preferences, scientists are learning whales have cultural differences once thought to be unique to humans.

National Geographic

Topics: Animal Studies Cultural Evolution Human Uniqueness Social Learning Social Networks

How Do Children Become Members of the Populations They Are Born Into

Cristine Legare describes the development and diversity of cumulative cultural learning.

Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute

Topics: Cognition Cristine Legare Education Knowledge Learning Social Learning

For the Evolution of Smarts, Parents Matter

Songbird research shows cognitive and survival benefits.

Cosmos

Topics: Animal Studies Cognitive Development Cultural Evolution Intelligence Learning Social Learning

How We’re Wired for Goodness

Nicholas Christakis is Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University, where he’s also the director of the Human Nature Lab and co-director of the Institute for Network Science.

On Being

Topics: Altruism Cooperation Social Behavior Social Learning

Being Copycats Might Be Key to Being Human

A quirk of psychology that affects the way people learn from others may have helped unlock the complicated technologies and rituals that human culture hinges on.

The Conversation

Topics: Cultural Evolution Ritual Social Learning

What Made Us Unique

How we became a different kind of animal.

Scientific American

Topics: Animal Studies Cognition Cognitive Development Cultural Evolution Human Uniqueness Kevin Laland Social Behavior Social Learning

Why Social Science Needs Evolutionary Theory

The lack of willingness to view human cognition and behavior as within the purview of evolutionary processes has prevented evolution from being fully integrated into the social science curriculum.

Nautilus

Topics: Cognition Cristine Legare Cultural Evolution Evolutionary Theory Social Behavior Social Learning

Neuroscience and the Roots of Human Connections

Humans work together on enormous scales to build complex tools as large as cities and create social networks that span the globe. What is the key to our success?

World Science Festival

Topics: Animal Studies Cultural Evolution Social Behavior Social Cognition Social Learning

Culture and the Mind: A New Theory of Human Intelligence

What role might culture play in intelligence? And how does human culture differ from culture found in other animals?

Science Weekly, The Guardian

Topics: Animal Studies Cultural Evolution Human Uniqueness Intelligence Kevin Laland Language Social Learning

Evolution Unleashed

Is evolutionary science due for a major overhaul — or is talk of ‘revolution’ misguided?

Aeon

Topics: Animal Studies Cultural Evolution Epigenetics Evolutionary Mechanisms Extended Evolutionary Synthesis Genes Kevin Laland Social Learning

Stanford Psychologists Find Even Young Children Recognize “Sins of Omission”

Technically correct but misleading statements are called “sins of omission,” researchers say.

The Stanford Daily

Topics: Cognitive Development Information Learning Social Learning