Durham Cultural Evolution Research Centre

Photo of Prof Rob Barton, speaking at a panel event. He holds a wireless microphone and behind him is a large photo full of green plants.

Our Prof Rob Barton has been elected as a fellow of the @rsb.org.uk!

Fellows of the RSB demonstrate a distinctive and notable contribution to the advancement of the biological sciences, with min. 5yrs' influential experience throughout their career.

More about Rob: www.durham.ac.uk/staff/r-a-ba...

Looking for #culturalevolution methods advice. We will run a survey to estimate the degree and nature of #sociallearning in a local population (a US country).

Are there any standard survey instruments or social psychology scales for this?

I can find only partly relevant stuff. Please help!

Graphic announcing the CogSci 2026 submission deadline. On the left, a calendar page shows “FEB 2.” On the right, the text reads “COGSCI 2026 – Cognitive Inefficiency, July 22–25, Rio de Janeiro” with gear icons above and the phrase “Deadline for Submissions” highlighted below, all on a dark teal background.

Friendly reminder: #CogSci2026 submissions close on Feb 2.

And don't forget: we're planning a fully synchronous hybrid conference for 2026, with options to present in Rio de Janeiro or virtually.

cognitivesciencesociety.org/submissions/

AntiSocial - Men and Loneliness - BBC Sounds Should society intervene to help lonely men?

Had a good chat with the folks at BBC Radio 4 about what science actually says about attraction and appearance ideals.

A key point to emphasise: most of the male appearance pressure in the media is about what MEN think men should be. Not women.

10 mins in here:
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Want to socialise ahead of the conference? Join the Early Career Researchers drinks on the evening of 25th/02! 🍻 An excellent opportunity to meet fellow researchers in a relaxed way. Contact us to join.

Reminder: conference and workshop registration is still open (forms on our website) 🔎

Call for papers -- due March 31, 2026 (abstracts due March 26)
colmweb.org/cfp.html

Call for workshops -- due April 14, 2026
colmweb.org/cfw.html

Just one week left to apply!

Due to the the high volume of submissions received, abstract decision notifications for the upcoming Cultural Evolution Society 2026 Conference in Rabat are slightly delayed.

Expect to see it in your inbox in ~ 1 week, and fingers crossed you got your presentation of choice!

Primates’ same-sex sexual behaviour ‘may reinforce bonds amid environmental stress’ Behaviour among non-human species could help keep groups together in face of social challenges, says study

A new study in @nature.com demonstrates the prevalence of same-sex sexual behaviour in primates (59 species) and its possible ecological and social functions. My comments on the study feature at the end of this coverage in @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...?

CE paper alert 🚨! Innovation and copying in speed climbers ->

Theme Issue alert! Featuring awardees and the grant team of the CES Transformation Fund grant scheme, including DCERC members @rachkendal.bsky.social, @sheinalew.bsky.social, @amandinevisine.bsky.social, and @sarahewright.bsky.social

🚨 ABSTRACT SUBMISSION 🚨

#EHBEA2026 will be held in Leiden!

Do not forget to submit your abstract before December 15th in order to attend and share your research!

More in the official account:
@ehbea2026.bsky.social

👇👇👇

Abstract submission for CES 2026 in Rabat has been extended to 30th November! @ces2026.bsky.social

Sustainable education should include Indigenous knowledge - Nature Human Behaviour Formal education systems rarely include the knowledge and skills of hunter-gatherer societies. This can lead to cultural erosion and knowledge decline. For education to be both high quality and sustai...

Sustainable education should include Indigenous knowledge

"In our research with hunter-gatherer communities in the Global South, we see that participation in education often undermines Indigenous knowledge systems and cultural integrity."

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are pleased to announce that throughout Open Access Week, from 20 – 26 October, all Royal Society journal content is freely available. Explore our journals here: royalsociety.org/Journals/ #OAWeek #OAWeek25

EHBEA-Public-Communication-Award-nomination-form 2026.docx 2026 EHBEA Excellence in Public Communication award Nomination Form Please submit this application form by e-mail to the EHBEA Secretary ehbea.secretary@gmail.com Next Deadline: 5pm (GMT), 19th DEC...

🚨 AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

For the first time, EHBEA is giving an award for this members who excel in public outreach and communication of the evolutionary human sciences

📣 📣 📣

Deadline: December 19, 2025

Check the form below 👇

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Overview | EHBEA2026

🚨𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀!
www.ehbea2026.com is now live for our 2026 European Human Behaviour & Evolution Association (EHBEA) conference in Leiden (NL🇳🇱) Check for 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, first 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 & the [𝗔𝗜]𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸!
🗓️ 14–17 Apr 2026 | CBEN pre-conf 14 Apr
📍Pesthuis
#EHBEA2026

Congratulations to all the prize winners! Especially to our own Sally Street for her course on the Cultural Evolution of Music!

Know someone whose excellence in research and contributions to the CogSci community should be recognized? Nominate them to be a Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society!

Deadline: Nov 1
More info: cognitivesciencesociety.org/fellows/

UCL – University College London UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

@sriucl.bsky.social is HIRING 2 permanent Lecturers 🚀 in #QuantitativeSocialScience!

It comes with smart and lovely colleagues🌟, a central London office, and many big ideas and questions 🧐

Apply now! www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

We’re delighted to share that the 37th annual Human Behavior and Evolution Society conference (HBES2026) website is now live!

#HBES2026

Congratulations again to @emilymljeffries.bsky.social and all the other @ehbea.bsky.social award winners!

🚨New paper!🚨 (And don't forget, it's not too late to apply for a PhD supervised by Lynda www.durham.ac.uk/departments/...)

Assistant Professor in Psychology Ref: 40866 (Fixed Term, Maternity Cover) - Job page - University of Sussex Job Search

Come and work with us!
Assistant Professor in Psychology (Fixed Term, Maternity Cover)
Please share!

jobs.sussex.ac.uk/job/c54c4570...

Abstract submissions are open for CES 2026! The deadline is 16th November. Make sure to follow @ces2026.bsky.social for updates.

Research Fellowships Each year, IAST invites applications for post-doctoral Research Fellowships, which offer candidates an opportunity to devote themselves full-time to their research at the start of their careers. Fello...

📢 Apply to our (2-year) research fellowships at @iast.fr

Join a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and indisciplinary group of scholars in Toulouse, walkable/cyclable pink city of chocolatines in the South of France.

Deadline: November 15, 2025.

www.iast.fr/research-fel...

Graphic with teal background and green text that reads: ‘Submissions for the CogSci Mind Challenge will close in 4 weeks.’ To the right, there is the CogSci Mind Challenge 2025 logo featuring a brain icon.

⏳4 weeks left! Submissions for the CogSci Mind Challenge close Oct 17!

Make a 5-min video answering: “How do different minds (i.e. different groups of humans, animals, artificial systems) learn language, if at all?”

💰Prizes up to $1000!

Learn more at cognitivesciencesociety.org/cogsci-mind-...

👇 interview on collaborative (research 🧪) cultures

Thanks to @humboldt-foundation.de for funding my work on cooperative subsistence across cultures, w/ @sheinalew.bsky.social, and my network at @durhamdcerc.bsky.social: @mandolinguist.bsky.social @amandinevisine.bsky.social @chimpanzeve.bsky.social

The count down starts for #CESRabat! Follow @ces2026.bsky.social and join us May 11-13 next year for an exciting meeting in Rabat, Morocco.

Massive thanks to the #CESRabat organising committee:
Sarah Alami (co-chair)
Mathieu Charbonneau (co-chair)
Zachary Garfield
Edmond Seabright

Promotional poster for the LMU Open Science Center Summer School 2025 Public Lecture. The poster features a photo of speaker Prof. Dr. Richard McElreath. The text states the lecture focuses on science as amateur software development, time and date of lecture being 9:00-10:00 CEST on Wednesday September 17 2025, and instructions to register online. Logos of LMU Open Science Center, LMU, and Universitätsbibliothek München are displayed at the bottom.

💡 Explore how practices from distributed, open-source software can make science more professional, open, and collaborative! Attend the “Science as amateur software development” lecture by Prof. Dr. @rmcelreath.bsky.social on Wed 17 Sept, 9:00.
👉 Register here: www.pretix.osc.lmu.de/lmu-osc/OSSS...