Evolutionary psychology aims to understand and describe the human mind and behavior in the light of the (biological and cultural) selection pressures operating on humans, now and in the past. Evolutionary psychology is a relatively young but vibrant discipline, making inroads into all of field of psychology and the social sciences. As the field develops, it is starting to generate findings that are useful for tackling many contemporary challenges in our society, from health and sustainability problems to management and financial issues. Together with colleagues in the Social Psychology section, in the Organizational Section we share a common interest lies in using evolutionary thinking to inform our applied research. Current projects address such diverse questions as:
– How important are facial cues in hiring and in voting decisions?
– Can we use evolutionary principles to build more cooperative teams and organizations?
– Can cross-species comparisons be informative about the obstacles and opportunities for women leadership?
– Are our biases and irrational (financial) decisions the result of evolutionary mismatch?
– What role do emotions (like disgust) and reputations play in people’s sustainability decisions?
– Is there an evolutionary basis to the prejudice towards immigrants?
– Why are humans so extremely susceptible to conspiracy theories?
