Generic generalizations within and across contexts Ny Vasil Assistant Professor Psychology Department, California State University East Bay Generic 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. […]

An evolutionary-physiological model of human energy management and the emergence of novel non-communicable diseases Hillard Kaplan Professor, Anthropology, University of New Mexico Research Affiliate, Economic Science Institute, Chapman University This 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 […]

Incentivized punishers and moralistic offenders destabilize cooperation Tage Rai Assistant Professor Rady School of Management University of California, San Diego Punishment 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 […]