William Harbaugh: U of OregonOne potential explanation for some of the differences in incomes between men and women is a difference in preferences for economic competition. In experiments with real effort and cash payoffs men are more likely to select into winner-take-all tournaments, while women tend to choose individual piece-rate pay or equal payments based […]

Simone Schnall: CambridgeHow do people tell right from wrong? It used to be assumed that moral decisions are based on rational thought, such that people determine on objective facts and logical analysis what is morally acceptable behaviour. More recently, however, empirical findings suggest that decisions about morality and ethical behaviour are far from rational, but […]

James Andreoni: UCSDGiving to those in need is inherently a social act. First, altruistic giving requires empathy for, or perhaps simply awareness of, those who are needy. Second, giving nearly always involves a social interaction between the donor and someone seeking a donation. Third, those who are generous tend to be admired by others, and […]

Joel Sachs: UCRBeneficial bacteria improve our health and are crucial to crops plants and fodder animals. However, symbiosis is evolutionarily unstable: harmful mutants can invade symbiont populations and cause cooperation to collapse. My research encompasses both theoretical and empirical work on the evolution and maintenance of bacterial symbioses with eukaryotes. My theoretical work seeks to […]

Alison Gopnik: UCBOne of the most striking generalizations in evolutionary psychology is the correlation between sophisticated and flexible learning-based knowledge in adult organisms and a long protected period of immaturity in the young. In terms of the classic altricial vs. precocial, or r vs. k distinction in evolutionary biology, the altricial species are more likely […]