Center for Evolutionary Psychology

UCSB’s Hongbo Yu (psychology) and Ya Zuo (history) have organized a symposium called “Emotions in History: Boundary-Crossing Adventures.” It will be held online August 10-11, 2023. The animating idea is that theories of emotion in each field–psychology and history–can be enriched by knowledge from the other.

The keynotes will be August 10 (Leda Cosmides (UCSB) representing Psychology, Anna Shields (Princeton) representing the Humanities.  Aug 11 features a roundtable discussion between Team History and Team Psychology (which features evolutionary psychologists, including CEP alumnus Daniel Sznycer), followed by a discussion open to all. See below for more.

Keynotes: August 10, 8-10AM (PDT), Zoom link: https://ucsb.zoom.us/j/87899179073?pwd=c0hPYWxyT0JMZDFuSmNSTUhhYy9rQT09

Symposium: August 11, 7-10AM (PDT), Zoom link: https://ucsb.zoom.us/j/88393915476?pwd=bTVzVlM4NGQvZVVaWkpKQ3hrWDVMUT09

Michelle Scalise Sugiyama (University of Oregon) is a CEP alum who earned her doctorate in literature. Recently she has created Talking Stories: An Encyclopedia of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and made it available to all who are interested in evolutionary psychology and the arts.

The Don Symons Adaptationism Award was created by the Human Behavior and Evolution Society in honor of UCSB Professor Emeritus, Don Symons. Professor Symons was a founder of the field of evolutionary psychology, starting with his breakout book in 1979, The Evolution of Human Sexuality. He was widely known for his careful use of adapationist thinking, especially when evaluating alternative hypotheses about the adaptive function of a mechanism.

The Don Symons Adaptationism Award is bestowed for the best paper exemplifying the adaptationist program written or published in the last three years. The inaugural award was announced at the 2023 Human Behavior and Evolution Society meeting in Palm Springs, California.

The Human Behavior & Evolution Society will be meeting in Palm Springs, California from May 31 to June 3, 2023.

During this unique event that took place on May 8th at CEP (Centro de Estudios Públicos de Chile), attendees had the opportunity to witness an engaging dialogue between Isabel Behncke and Leda Cosmides. While some participants enjoyed the experience in person, those unable to attend physically could still join the conversation through the live stream on Emol TV. The event focused on the topic of Political Tribes (Evolution and Society), with both experts sharing their knowledge, perspectives, and insights.

The conversation can be seen in Youtube.