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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241202T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241202T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20241023T222117Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241203T192241Z
UID:7634-1733140800-1733146200@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:David Pietraszewski - The evolutionary psychology of psychology
DESCRIPTION:The evolutionary psychology of psychology\nDavid Pietraszewski\nPsychological and Brain Sciences\, UCSB\nSciences progress when the perspective-dependence of their inquiry is taken into account and corrected for. This happened in astronomy\, physics\, and chemistry\, but it has not yet happened in the psychological and behavioral sciences. Because human beings have no choice but to use their mind to understand the mind\, the mental mechanisms brought to bear on that endevour—the evolutionary psychology of psychology—constitute psychology’s perspective-dependence. In this talk\, I will show how thinking about the psychology underlying the study of the mind explains (1) the problem of free will and (2) broad assumption(s) about mental processes that are perennially re-discovered and then later shown to be insufficient. Accounting for the structure of our evolved cognitive mechanisms is a necessary meta-scientific endeavour that clears away mysteries and highlights problems that need to be solved\, allowing us to side-step prejudices of the mind.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/david-pietraszewski-the-evolutionary-psychology-of-psychology/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250106T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250106T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20241230T232157Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250108T194525Z
UID:7687-1736164800-1736170200@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Nicholas Grebe - Snark Hunting and Non-Traditional Models for the Biology of Monogamy
DESCRIPTION:Snark Hunting and Non-Traditional Models for the Biology of Monogamy\nNicholas Grebe\nAssistant Professor\nDepartment of Psychology\nOccidental College\nSince the 1950s\, the field of organismal biology has warned against a single-minded focus on common\, easy-to-study animal models—the lab rat being the canonical example—that comes at the expense of understanding both diversity and commonality in the mechanisms of behavior. Historically\, research on the biology of monogamy has been dominated by rodent models\, and in primates\, by callitrichids (marmosets and tamarins). A large body of often elegant research in these animals has proven foundational to contemporary theories in organismal biology. At the same time\, looking beyond these popular models has revealed a diversity of behavior under the umbrella of ‘monogamy’\, and in many cases\, a corresponding diversity in underlying physiological mechanisms. This talk will cover research on the biology and evolution of monogamy in two non-traditional primate models—lemurs and mountain gorillas—and will discuss what can be gained from studying the social worlds of non-model organisms. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/nicholas-grebe-snark-hunting-and-non-traditional-models-for-the-biology-of-monogamy/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250127T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250127T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20250106T224658Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250131T185844Z
UID:7697-1737979200-1737984600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Justin Lund - Storytelling\, sovereignty\, and STEM
DESCRIPTION:Storytelling\, sovereignty\, and STEM\nJustin Lund\nPostdoctoral Fellow\nDepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology\nOSU Center for Health Sciences\nInclusive and engaged research and education are essential for fostering equity and mutual respect. Yet\, academic approaches to culturally appropriate knowledge production and community engagement vary widely. Indigenous communities have long been a focus of research\, often emphasizing their ways of living\, biologies\, and narratives—frequently without equitable collaboration. To move toward more just engagement\, educators and researchers must embrace decolonization practices that prioritize Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. While “decolonization” is often invoked as a buzzword\, its practical application can be deeply transformative. In this talk\, Dr. Lund will share insights from education and research initiatives co-created with Indigenous communities and students. These efforts aim to honor Tribal sovereignty and cultivate a new generation of Indigenous scientists\, setting a model for equitable and impactful collaborations.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/justin-lund-storytelling-sovereignty-and-stem/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250210T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250210T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20250106T224749Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250225T203806Z
UID:7700-1739188800-1739194200@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Ryan Nichols - Lineage Fitness Theory and the Lineage Manipulation and Mutualism Mechanism: Bridging Evolutionary Social Sciences & Cultural Evolution
DESCRIPTION:Lineage Fitness Theory and the Lineage Manipulation and Mutualism Mechanism: Bridging Evolutionary Social Sciences & Cultural Evolution\nRyan Nichols\nDepartment of Philosophy\, California State University Fullerton\nLineage fitness theory aims to improve integration of cultural evolution with evolutionary psychological and social sciences by explaining the onset and maintenance of key traditions as products of gene-culture co-evolutionary selection of a mechanism. The lineage fitness hypothesis is deduced from inclusive fitness theory\, corresponding middle-level evolutionary hypotheses\, and stated assumptions pertaining to cumulative culture. The lineage manipulation and mutualism mechanism refers to the causal processes by which ancestors exploited intra-lineage cumulative cultural traditions to marginally raise their fitness by partially controlling inputs to evolved psychological modules of descendants. This caused increases in rates of co-descendant survival\, in welfare tradeoff ratio amongst distant co-descendants\, and led to manipulation of mating preferences and behaviors of co-descendants. Unique predictions of this theory that are not entailed by kin selection theory are identified. The posterior probability of this theory is raised by attention to studies demonstrating effects of cultural traditions on patrilineal investment\, and by a case study of Han Chinese culture and genomics. A Bayesian argument noting several limitations concludes the discussion by affirming (only) that the lineage fitness hypothesis merits further investigation by experts. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/ryan-nichols-lineage-fitness-theory-and-the-lineage-manipulation-and-mutualism-mechanism-bridging-evolutionary-social-sciences-cultural-evolution/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250224T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250224T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20250106T224931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250225T204705Z
UID:7707-1740398400-1740403800@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Mike Frank - Bridging the data gap between children and AI models
DESCRIPTION:Bridging the data gap between children and AI models\nMike Frank\n\nBenjamin Scott Crocker Professor of Human Biology\, Stanford University\n\nLarge language and language-vision models show intriguing emergent behaviors\, yet they receive at least three to four – and sometimes as much as six – orders of magnitude more language data than human children. What accounts for this vast difference in sample efficiency? I will describe steps towards a paradigm in which we can address this question. In particular\, I’ll discuss the use of child language and egocentric video data for model training\, and the use of developmental data for model evaluation. This paradigm provides a model-based framework for exploring the nature of children’s early language learning. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/mike-frank-bridging-the-data-gap-between-children-and-ai-models/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250303T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250303T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20241230T234554Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191530Z
UID:7692-1741003200-1741008600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Daniel L. Bowling - Music and Health: Biological Foundations and Applications *Rescheduled from 1/13/25*
DESCRIPTION:Music and Health: Biological Foundations and Applications\nDaniel L. Bowling\nStanford University School of Medicine\, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences\nStanford University School of Humanities and Sciences\, Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA)\nEvery day\, hundreds of millions of people turn to music to regulate their mood\, take pleasure\, and socialize. These effects apply directly to core dimensions of mental health\, including affect\, reward\, and social functioning. This correspondence is attracting attention from public and private investors (e.g.\, the National Institutes of Health and Universal Music Group). The evidence at hand includes hundreds of controlled trials examining music therapies\, meta-analyses of which show clinically significant effects across a broad range of major functional disorders (e.g.\, of mood\, anxiety\, sociality\, psychosis\, and dementia). Building on this success\, a variety of new and developing music-based treatments are being sold and tested in support of health and wellness. In this talk\, I will present our growing understanding of music’s underlying biology alongside recent work to combine music neuroscience\, therapy\, composition\, and technology towards new applications designed to increase treatment access and biomedical integration. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/daniel-l-bowling-music-and-health-biological-foundations-and-applications/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250310T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250310T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20250106T225009Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191717Z
UID:7711-1741608000-1741613400@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Tage Rai - Incentivized punishers and moralistic offenders destabilize cooperation
DESCRIPTION:Incentivized punishers and moralistic offenders destabilize cooperation\nTage Rai\nAssistant Professor\nRady School of Management\nUniversity of California\, San Diego\nPunishment is classically theorized to be essential for the evolution of cooperation in human societies and is the primary means by which states attempt to directly reduce crime. Yet\, empirically\, punishment is often ineffective at bringing about its desired changes in behavior. In this talk\, I describe a series of papers from my lab that investigate moral motivation and signaling dynamics between punishers and offenders that reduce the effectiveness of punishment and destabilize cooperation. These studies draw on economic games\, secondary analyses of crime\, and vignette study methods\, and are conducted with participants from general and criminalized populations. I then revisit the question of why we punish\, whether it ever makes sense\, and what our alternatives are.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/tage-rai-incentivized-punishers-and-moralistic-offenders-destabilize-cooperation/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250331T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250331T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20250311T192630Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191814Z
UID:7811-1743422400-1743427800@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Hillard Kaplan - An evolutionary-physiological model of human energy management and the emergence of novel non-communicable diseases
DESCRIPTION:An evolutionary-physiological model of human energy management and the emergence of novel non-communicable diseases\nHillard Kaplan\nProfessor\, Anthropology\, University of New Mexico\nResearch Affiliate\, Economic Science Institute\, Chapman University\nThis talk presents recent findings obtained with Tsimane and Moseten Native South Americans showing that they 1) engage in high levels of physical activity\, and have a high burden of infectious disease and high fertility rates; 2) have a very low prevalence of heart disease and dementia; 3) have slower rates of brain volume loss with age than U.S. and European populations; and 4) evidence a curvilinear relationship of BMI and non-HDL cholesterol with brain volume. Based on those results\, I propose a theoretical model of the evolved human energy management system\, focusing on the regulation and use of macronutrients in supporting physical activity\, brain function\, immunity\, and reproduction. This is followed by a quantitative model that examines how natural selection would act on exogenous changes in energy supply and expenditure. The final part of the talk utilizes the model to explore how recent rapid changes in energy supply\, physical activity\, pathogen burden and reproduction result in increased risk of diabetes\, heart disease\, dementia\, and cancer.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/hillard-kaplan-an-evolutionary-physiological-model-of-human-energy-management-and-the-emergence-of-novel-non-communicable-diseases/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250414T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250414T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085435
CREATED:20250307T215048Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191343Z
UID:7774-1744632000-1744637400@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Ny Vasil - Generic generalizations within and across contexts
DESCRIPTION:Generic generalizations within and across contexts\nNy Vasil\nAssistant Professor\nPsychology Department\, California State University East Bay\nGeneric generalizations about natural and social kinds (e.g.\, “Raccoons have rabies”; “Trader Joe’s cashiers are friendly”) shape how agents learn\, explain and intervene on their environment. Yet\, there’s no consensus about what underwrites people’s endorsement of generic generalizations. This talk brings together ideas from psychology\, philosophy and linguistics to argue that stability of the described relationship – the extent to which it holds across various contexts\, real or hypothetical – plays an important role in people’s endorsement of generic generalizations about natural and social kinds\, and about causal relationships in these domains. In a series of empirical studies\, we explore how agents navigate the world composed of both broad and narrow patterns\, how the search for robust non-accidental regularities is flexibly adapted to handle “sociocultural bubbles” and other exceptions to universality\, and how this capacity develops. In conclusion\, I will discuss how the proposed account coheres with the psychological functions of generalizations. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/ny-vasil-generic-generalizations-within-and-across-contexts/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250428T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250428T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085436
CREATED:20250312T202548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191219Z
UID:7820-1745841600-1745847000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Katrine Whiteson - May the Fiber Be with You: Gut Microbiomes from a remote Amazon village to the undergraduate lab
DESCRIPTION:May the Fiber Be with You: Gut Microbiomes from a remote Amazon village to the undergraduate lab\nKatrine Whiteson\nUniversity of California Irvine School of Biological Sciences\, co-Director\, UCI Microbiome Center\nBacterial and viral colonization of the human body has profound implications for human health\, yet our understanding of what constitutes a “healthy microbiome” remains incomplete—especially in the context of industrialization. Over the past century\, global diets have shifted dramatically\, with increased consumption of processed foods and a steep decline in dietary fiber intake. These changes have left our colons depleted of critical substrates that fuel gut microbial communities\, with potential consequences for immune function\, metabolic health\, and chronic disease risk. \nTo explore what a less industrialized microbiome might look like\, we studied the gut\, oral\, and fermented food microbiomes of women and children from 28 households in Conambo\, a remote Indigenous community along the Conambo River in the Ecuadorian Amazon. This community is largely isolated from urban infrastructure\, with minimal exposure to processed foods or modern medical care. Microbiome profiles from Conambo participants revealed high diversity and a dominance of microbial taxa such as Prevotellaceae. \nWe also analyzed chicha\, a traditional fermented manioc beverage prepared by mastication of boiled cassava tubers. Our findings revealed microbial succession during fermentation and close taxonomic overlaps with oral and gut microbiota—underscoring the intimate links between diet\, tradition\, and microbial transmission. Within Conambo\, household co-residence emerged as a strong driver of microbiome similarity across fecal\, saliva\, and chicha samples. \nFinally\, we contextualized the Conambo microbiomes by comparing them to global reference datasets\, including UC Irvine undergraduates participating in dietary fiber intervention studies. Together\, these datasets reveal how environmental exposure\, diet\, and social structure shape the human microbiome—and offer a lens into both human microbial history and the future of microbiome-informed health. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/katrine-whiteson-may-the-fiber-be-with-you-gut-microbiomes-from-a-remote-amazon-village-to-the-undergraduate-lab/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250512T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250512T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085436
CREATED:20250312T202757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250527T195022Z
UID:7823-1747051200-1747056600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Annie E. Wertz - How infants learn to eat plants (and why they may not want to)
DESCRIPTION:How infants learn to eat plants (and why they may not want to)\nAnnie E. Wertz\nAssistant Professor\, Psychological & Brain Sciences\nUniversity of California\, Santa Barbara\nLife is mostly plants. Plants constitute an estimated 80% of the biomass on Earth and are concentrated in terrestrial environments. Millions of animal species rely on plants to survive and the organismic design of plants and animals have been tightly interwoven in intricate ways over evolutionary time. Humans are no exception. Plants have been a foundational component of human diets across evolutionary time\, yet many plants can be toxic or even fatal if ingested. In this talk\, I will present research exploring the cognitive adaptations human infants use to negotiate this paradox and safely learn which plants they can eat. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/annie-e-wertz-how-infants-learn-to-eat-plants-and-why-they-may-not-want-to/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250602T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250602T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T085436
CREATED:20250312T202947Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250606T201621Z
UID:7826-1748865600-1748871000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Erin Riley - Roadside primates: Balancing risks and rewards in anthropogenic environments
DESCRIPTION:Roadside primates: Balancing risks and rewards in anthropogenic environments\nErin Riley\nProfessor\, Anthropology\, San Diego State University\nIn the contemporary era it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a primate population that has not experienced some form of anthropogenic influence. Primates living in anthropogenic spaces may benefit from access to novel food resources\, such as agricultural crops or provisioned foods\, but they also must deal with potential negative outcomes from the presence of humans and their activities. The complexity of these human-primate interfaces necessitates the use of interdisciplinary approaches that draw from both the natural and social sciences. In this talk\, I will discuss my research on the human-macaque interface in Sulawesi\, Indonesia\, highlighting the mixed methods approaches my colleagues and I are using to examine how macaques and people are co-adapting to ever-expanding shared landscapes. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/erin-riley-roadside-primates-balancing-risks-and-rewards-in-anthropogenic-environments/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
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