evolutionary psychology

A new study examines whether or not dogs are able to understand the difference between a human's mistake versus active intent to withhold a treat.

Your Dog May Know If You've Done Something On Purpose, Or Just Screwed Up

11:13am September 01, 2021

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

An experiment involving dog treats suggests our canine pals may understand the difference when a human withholds a treat by accident and when they do so on purpose. But don't press your luck.

Software engineer Adriana Kaplan outside her home in South Philadelphia.

Health & Safety

Without Clear Pandemic Rules, People Take On More Risks As Fear And Vigilance Wane

5:12pm December 11, 2020

by Nina Feldman

Officials may be relying on people to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 at a time when the public is simply not afraid enough anymore to keep up the recommended behaviors.

Faced with a rat trapped in a restrainer, a free rat opens the trap's door to liberate the trapped animal (while stepping on its head — "very rat-ish behavior," says University of Chicago neurobiologist Peggy Mason).

To Come To The Rescue Or Not? Rats, Like People, Take Cues From Bystanders

4:50pm July 08, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Experiments in people have long shown that the presence of indifferent bystanders hurts the chances that someone will help a stranger in an emergency. Rats, it turns out, behave the same way.

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A chimpanzee hugs her newborn at Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem, Netherlands, in 2010. Over the course of his long career, primatologist Frans de Waal has become convinced that primates and other animals express emotions similar to human emotions.

Sex, Empathy, Jealousy: How Emotions And Behavior Of Other Primates Mirror Our Own

4:03pm March 19, 2019

by Terry Gross

Primatologist Frans de Waal believes that the way humans experience emotion is not unique: "That's a spectrum of behavior that we have, and the same thing is true for many other species."

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People get angry. But what about animals? Scientists find similarities in animal and human behavior and biology.

From Fruit Fly To Stink Eye: Searching For Anger's Animal Roots

7:35pm January 29, 2019

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists say comedian Lewis Black has a lot in common with fruit flies. They're both really good at acting angry, probably because human anger has roots in animal aggression.

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Friend or foe? A California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) gives observers the eye at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

Octopuses Get Strangely Cuddly On The Mood Drug Ecstasy

1:08pm September 20, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The drug makes the usually antisocial creatures much more interested in friendly contact with other octopuses. It's one more sign that the chemistry of social behavior has deep evolutionary roots.

A 17-year-old male bonobo eats while his son watches in the Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary, Democratic Republic of Congo.

What's Mine Is Yours, Sort Of: Bonobos And The Tricky Evolutionary Roots Of Sharing

7:05pm September 11, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Bonobos are much more likely than common chimpanzees to share their food, a study suggests. But researchers who study sharing say human kids are more helpful and cooperative than either species.

"We put on perfumes, we cover up our holes with anything that excretes or is moist we don't want anything to do with."

'Gross Anatomy' Turns Humor On Taboos About The Female Body

5:46pm August 30, 2018

Author Mara Altman got tired of hiding her hairy, sweaty self from the world, and set out to reframe the shame in her latest book of essays — part memoir, part scientific exploration, part manifesto.

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When it comes to making decisions, very different types of leaders have at least one thing in common, research suggests.

What Makes A Leader?

2:00pm August 02, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Leaders make decisions for a group in the same way they make choices for themselves, a study suggests. They don't change their decision-making behavior, even when the welfare of others is at stake.

Muslim women praying together in the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Religion

Creating God

9:00pm July 16, 2018

The world is full of complex religious beliefs. This week, we'll explore how religions have evolved, almost like living organisms, to help human societies survive and flourish.

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