Jean-Baptiste André

🧵 1/4 Last year, Nicolas Baumard and I published a target article in EHB, where we propose that cultural phenomena emerge from feedbacks between evolved psychology and ecological legacies, the same mechanisms at work in any ecosystem: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Really enjoyed this commentary by Jörg Gross on our paper on rigid rules and reputational ambiguity — turns out we’ve been thinking about some of the same problems! www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

The strictest moral rules ignore context on purpose, and the reason comes down to how easily a good excuse can be faked. #cogsci dailyneuron.com/rigid-moral-...

Very happy and proud to see this paper published, led by an exceptionally talented young researcher.

Why do societies rely on rigid moral rules? Don't lie. Keep your promises. Don't steal. We all recognize there are good reasons to make exceptions. So why are moral rules so often categorical? Our new paper proposes an answer. 🧵

Baumard and André (B&A) responded to the (many) comments that their original piece (www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...). Their response is linked in Alberto's post. I just got a pdf copy and will read it now; this will be a thread with my first thoughts...

Baumard & André answer to the commentaries to "The ecological approach to culture". An important conversation for everybody interested in application of evolutionary theory to culture. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Last call! Applications close tomorrow. Apply to the Master’s program in Cognitive Science at @ENS_ULM, @psl_univ, and @EHESS_fr. 🗓 Deadline: February 24, 2026 (23h59 Paris time)

New @aeon.co essay just out! On how institutions let us scale trust and cooperation - and when things start to unravel. Big thanks to editor Sam Dresser. For the more technical version, see thread & paper below👇

#voxprimato #master #sciencescognitives inscription au Master de sciences cognitives de l'ENS / UPS / EHESS de Paris, avec spécialité en Psychological science, Cognitive neuroscience, Cognitive modeling, neurotheory & AI, Social sciences & humanities, Philosophy, Linguistics date limite 24/02/2026 👇🏽

Only a few days left to apply to the Cognitive Science Master’s. !!!! Deadline: Feb 24 !!!!

Don’t forget to submit your #EHBEA2026 abstract before Dec 15! See you in beautiful Leiden in April! @ehbea2026.bsky.social @ehbea.bsky.social

[PhD track in Cognitive Science at Département d'Études Cognitives, ENS-PSL] Applications are now open for the PSL PhD Track 2026–2027 in Cognitive Science! This 5-year integrated program is aimed at talented students eager to tackle the scientific challenges of the future and to start shaping 1/2

Help us strengthen trust in climate scientists in the US! Join our megastudy 👇

🚨𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀! www.ehbea2026.com is now live for our 2026 European Human Behaviour & Evolution Association (EHBEA) conference in Leiden (NL🇳🇱) Check for 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, first 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 & the [𝗔𝗜]𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸! 🗓️ 14–17 Apr 2026 | CBEN pre-conf 14 Apr 📍Pesthuis #EHBEA2026

EHBEA is looking for new PRESIDENT and SECRETARY for 2026-2029! 👀 If you know of anybody who could represent EHBEA, nominate them as president! If you know with good organisational skills, nominate them as secretary! DEADLINE: 16/12/2026 HERE IS THE FORM 👇 docs.google.com/document/d/1...

📢 Apply to our (2-year) research fellowships at @iast.fr Join a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and indisciplinary group of scholars in Toulouse, walkable/cyclable pink city of chocolatines in the South of France. Deadline: November 15, 2025. www.iast.fr/research-fel...

Our #study finds that #male #dominance isn't the norm among #primates, and starts to unravel what shapes flexibility in intersexual power paper (OA) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500405122 press release https://www.mpg.de/24986976/0630-evan-beyond-the-alpha-male-150495-x?c=2249

EHB commentaries on Baumard and André's "The ecological approach to culture" are growing (see "Commentaries" section at the end). Good. www.sciencedirect.com/journal/evol...

"a forest is not treated as the output of a second inheritance system or as a group-level adaptation... culture is not a transmitted substance; it is the structured context that emerges from repeated and overlapping individual actions"

Nicolas Baumard & Jean-Baptiste Andre’s “ecological view of culture” provides an exciting new perspective that links Behavioral Ecology, Evolutionary Psychology, & Cultural Evolution. Read more in their HBES blog post: www.hbes.com/reconciling-...

Here, weird guy from X, I fixed it for you: "If a scientific society wants to be welcoming to [...] students & researchers [from the Global South], does it make sense to hold its next annual conference in a country that's notorious for [being located in the Global South]?" The answer is Yes.

We have a lovely new paper out, showing that even ignorant people can be very good at recognising who's knowledgeable based on minimal cues

We often have to judge who is knowledgeable—precisely when we are not. Can humans really do that? Our new paper in Psychological Science shows that, surprisingly, we can. drive.google.com/file/d/1b15E...

the functional form of moral judgment is (sometimes) the nash bargaining solution new preprint👇

I think the BabyLM Challenge is really interesting, but also feel that there is something fundamentally ill-posed about how it maps onto the challenge facing human children. It's true that babies only get a relatively limited amount of linguistic experience, but...

🧵New paper out in Cognition Why do people moralize harmless carnal sins (e.g. gluttony, masturbation)? @danielnettle.bsky.social & I find that these behaviors activate reciprocity-based moral judgment—no need for a distinct "purity" module. 50 days free link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1l18D2Hx2-...

The PCI Psychology website is live! psych.peercommunityin.org We're working hard to be ready for launch (planned May 2025) but there's plenty you can do in the meantime to help it along. Go check it out! #psychscisky #scipub

Two more weeks to apply! Spread the word and reach out with any questions.

Many thanks to all organisers of #EHBEA2025 for putting on such an inclusive and welcoming conference! @ehbea.bsky.social @ehbea2025.bsky.social

ℹ️ New announcement!! #EHBEA2026 will be in Leiden! Save the date.

🧠✨ EHBEA 2025 — Tuesday Highlights ✨🧠 From cultural transmission to chatbots and grandmothers, here's what's coming up on Day 2 (April 15) at #EHBEA2025. A thread 👇 @ehbea.bsky.social #HumanBehaviour #EvPsych #Anthropology #Research #EHBEA

Call for 5-years research fellowships at PSL university! @psl-univ.bsky.social Join the CultureLab team to research computational social science. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/o5mkp...

🚨 We’re so excited to welcome you to #EHBEA2025 — starting THIS MONDAY in Newcastle! 🎉 We’re opening with a bang 💥: A pre-conference panel on Big Team Science at 2pm! What worked, what didn't & more! 📝 Register: tinyurl.com/RegisterTeam... #TeamScience #HumanBehaviour #EHBEA @ehbea.bsky.social

Today is the day!! #EHBEA2025 is now here!! 😁🎉 Come find us at registration, which opens at 2pm! Then: - Pre-conference panel on big team science, 2-3pm - Conference opening @330pm - Plenary by Russell Hill @4pm - Reception @5pm Can't wait to see you all today! @ehbea.bsky.social

✨️Guess what?!?✨️ We're putting together a starter pack to make it easy to follow EHBEA 2025 presenters and attendees!! 🔥👩‍🔬 Want to be added? Drop a comment below! 👇 #EHBEA2025 #Evolution #HumanBehaviour @ehbea.bsky.social