Robin Dunbar CV
- CV
- PDF document 726.5 KB
Robin Dunbar Publications
- Publications
- PDF document 918.7 KB
Robin Dunbar
BA PhD DSc (Hons)
Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology
- ERC Advanced Investigator
Research Summary
My research is concerned with trying to understand the behavioural, cognitive and neuroendocrinological mechanisms that underpin social bonding in primates (in general) and humans (in particular). Understanding these mechanisms, and the functions that relationships serve, will give us insights how humans have managed to create large scale societies using a form of psychological that is evolutionarily adapted to very small scale societies, and why these mechanisms are less than perfect in the modern world. This has implications for the design of social networking sites as well as mobile technology. We use conventional behavioural and cognitive experimental approaches, combined with network analysis, agent based modelling, comparative studies of primate brain evolution, neuroimaging and neuroendocrinology to explore explicit and implicit processes at both the dyadic and the group level. An important feature of our behavioural studies has been the constraints that time places on an individual’s ability to manage their relationships, and the cognitive tricks used to overcome these.
Recent publications
-
The default network of the human brain is associated with perceived social isolation.
Journal article
Spreng RN. et al, (2020), Nat Commun, 11
-
Narrative structure of A Song of Ice and Fire creates a fictional world with realistic measures of social complexity.
Journal article
Gessey-Jones T. et al, (2020), Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
-
Sex Differences in Intimacy Levels in Best Friendships and Romantic Partnerships
Journal article
Pearce E. et al, (2020), Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology
-
The moderating role of social network size in the temporal association between formal social participation and mental health: a longitudinal analysis using two consecutive waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).
Journal article
Santini ZI. et al, (2020), Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol
-
Blocking mu-opioid receptors inhibits social bonding in rituals.
Journal article
Charles SJ. et al, (2020), Biol Lett, 16