Robert Kurzban

Robert O. Kurzban (born September 29, 1969 ) is an American psychologist . He is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania .

Life

Kurzban studied psychology at Cornell University ( BA , 1991) and at the University of California, Santa Barbara ( M.Sc. , 1996 and Ph.D. , 1998). After postdoc positions at the University of California, Los Angeles , the University of Arizona and the California Institute of Technology , he has been a professor at the University of Pennsylvania since 2002.

Kurzban's research interests are decision-making processes , social and cultural psychology, and especially evolutionary psychology . The focus of his work is on the nature of evolved cognitive adaptations in social life. These include, for example, cooperative decision-making, punishment , morality , relationships and partner choice . Kurzban uses methods from experimental economics and cognitive psychology .

with Jason Weeden: The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind: How Self-Interest Shapes Our Opinions and Why We Won't Admit it. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 2014, ISBN 978-0-691-16111-2 .
Why everyone (else) is a hypocrite: evolution and the modular mind . Princeton University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-14674-4 .
with A. Dukes and J. Weeden: Sex, drugs, and moral goals: Reproductive strategies and views about recreational drugs. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society-B. 2010.
with P. DeScioli: Mysteries of morality. In: Cognition. 112 (2009), pp. 281-299.
with CA Aktipis: Modularity and the social mind: Are psychologists too self-ish? In: Personality and Social Psychology Review. 11 (2), (2007), pp. 131-149. (PDF file; 144 kB)
with P. DeScioli and E. O'Brien: Audience effects on moralistic punishment. In: Evolution and Human Behavior. 28 (2), (2007), pp. 75-84. (PDF file; 223 kB)
with J. Weeden: Do advertised preferences predict the behavior of speed daters? In: Personal Relationships. 14 (2007), pp. 623-632.
with HC Barrett: Modularity in cognition: Framing the debate. In: Psychological Review. 113 (3), (2006), pp. 628-647. (PDF file; 144 kB)