Research in this group explores the evolution of cooperation in nature. In particular, we ask what mechanisms can maintain cooperation in interactions where partners may otherwise be tempted to exploit one another. In parallel, we investigate the ecological causes and evolutionary consequences of individual variation in social behaviour.
We work on a variety of model species, and use real-world and lab-based methods to tackle these questions.
We are striving to be an open science lab. We publish in open-access journals, we pre-register our experiments when we can, and we routinely post the materials, data and code to reproduce analyses online.
If you’re keen to come and work with us in the Social Evolution and Behaviour Lab at UCL, please get in touch.
Principal investigator
Nichola Raihani is PI of the Social Evolution and Behaviour Lab. She is Professor in Evolution and Behaviour, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.
Huxley, delivering on the brief #standard pic.twitter.com/X2g0h652TV
— Prof Nichola Raihani (@nicholaraihani) October 3, 2022
Anyone in Bristol / Bath tomorrow evening - I'm giving a talk at the Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution at 1930 - please come if you fancy it! Hoping to also have a few books there to sign as well. https://t.co/Zj2fyDrlWB
— Prof Nichola Raihani (@nicholaraihani) October 3, 2022
Exciting!! Already two copies down as both kids wanted one 💙 Out on Oct 6th #thesocialinstinct pic.twitter.com/soUtiKHxmu
— Prof Nichola Raihani (@nicholaraihani) October 2, 2022
Nichola Raihani awarded Philip Leverhulme Prize for Psychology
New paper shows that social threat causes paranoid thinking
Nichola Raihani elected to Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology