I got my academic training in ethology and evolutionary biology. From 1979 to 2001, my research focused on the evolution and mechanisms of animal behaviour, including studies of aggressive behaviour, animal communication and neural network theory. Since 2001 I have mainly worked on human behaviour and cultural evolution. Together with Prof. Arne Jarrick, I managed an interdisciplinary project on cultural evolution between 2001 and 2006. In 2007 I founded the Stockholm University Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution, for which I was the director until the end of 2022.
My current research focus on theories for cultural evolution, the evolutionary transition and the differences between humans and other animals. I am keen on introducing mathematical modelling to questions about social processes and cultural change. I have just finished a major book project entitled The Human Evolutionary Transitions in Humans: From Animal Intelligence to Culture which develops a new theory of human evolution.
Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution (CEK)
Behavior Mechanisms and Learning Processes
Evolution of fighting behavior and communication in animals
Sexual Behavior