Applied Evolutionary Anthropology Lab
Current research topics include:
the social learning of gender roles.
the evolution of gendered conflict and life history strategies.
the wellbeing implications of marriage practices.
Field research in Tanzania is carried out in collaboration with the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research. Our lab is committed to pursuing equitable collaboration in anthropological research. We (i) only conduct primary data collection overseas in collaboration and co-authorship with local researchers; (ii) whenever possible, allocate grant funding via local institutions with appropriate overheads; (iii) combine research with investment in mentoring and capacity-building activities.
If you’d like to know more, collaborate or join our lab, contact us.
Lab Members
Joseph is a PhD candidate in Anthropology. He is interested in gendered conflict, gender equality and the role of social norms, sanctions and punishments in driving behavior change.
Alexander is a postdoctoral scholar at the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research. He is interested in sexual and reproductive health, masculinities, mixed methods research, and health systems and policy.
Lotty is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Exeter. She is interested in the evolution of cognition, social learning, decision making, cultural evolution, and reproducible, open science.
Zhian is an MA student in Anthropology. He is broadly interested in human behavioral ecology & social learning, but especially shifts in parental investment and patterns of norm misperception.
Tara Zahraie
Tara is an undergrad majoring in Sociology with a minor in Applied Psychology. She has assisted us in running focus groups on men's support for gender equality on campus, and in analyzing transcripts from Tanzania.
Pietro's research interests include food, snacks and treats, long walks on the beach, and chasing geckos. Emotional support hugs available on request. He doesn’t care about your last publication.
Alumni
Jitihada Baraka Jitihada joined as a research affiliate in 2022-23, working on early marriage.
Susan Schaffnit. Susan was postdoctoral scholar in our lab from 2017-21, researching early marriage.
Anushé Hassan Anushé completed her PhD in 2021. Her thesis addressed alloparenting and child health.
Sophie Hedges Sophie completed her PhD in 2019. Her work addressed trade-offs between children’s work and education.
Our research has been funded by the University of California, Santa Barbara (USA), the National Science Foundation (USA), the Cultural Evolution Society Transformation Fund (UK), the Hellman Foundation USA), the Economic and Social Research Council (UK), the Medical Research Council (UK), the Leverhulme Trust (UK), the British Academy (UK), and the Department for International Development (UK).