Research
Overview of major themes, collaborators, and long-running projects.
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Mathematical biology · social evolution · cultural evolution
Sergey Gavrilets
Distinguished Professor working at the interface of biology, social sciences, mathematics, and computational science.
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Mathematics
University of Tennessee
Contact
- Location
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1610
- Phone
- (865) 974-3065
- gavrila@utk.edu
- Affiliations
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Department of Mathematics
Research overview
Transdisciplinary research at the interface of biology, social sciences, mathematics, and computational science. I use mathematical models and agent-based simulations to study complex evolutionary processes in biological and social systems.
Recent research areas include human origins, the evolution of social complexity, human behavior in cooperation and conflict, cultural evolution, social norms and beliefs, and social institutions.
Earlier work includes speciation and biological diversification, sexual conflict and sexual selection, coevolution and frequency-dependent selection, fitness landscapes, the dynamics and maintenance of genetic variation, and phenotypic plasticity.
Appointments and support
I am a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies Toulouse, a Research Affiliate at the University of Oxford School of Anthropology, and an External Faculty member at the Complexity Science Hub Vienna.
My research has been supported by the NIH, the NSF, the John Templeton Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Selected recent publications
- Gavrilets, S. et al.. 2026. “The cultural evolution of pluralistic ignorance.” PNAS 123 e2522998123. [pdf]
- Gavrilets, S. and P. Seabright. 2025. “The evolution of zero-sum and positive-sum worldviews.” PNAS 122 e2504339122. [pdf]
- Gelfand, M. et al.. 2024. “Norm dynamics: interdisciplinary perspectives on social norm emergence, persistence, and change.” Ann. Rev. Psy. 75: 341-378. [pdf]
- Gavrilets, S. et al.. 2024. “Co-evolution of behavior and beliefs in social dilemmas: estimating material, social, cognitive and cultural determinants.” Evolutionary Human Sciences 6, e50. [pdf]
- Tverskoi, D. et al.. 2024. “Cultural tightness and resilience against environmental shocks in nonindustrial societies.” PNAS 121(49) e2403386121. [pdf]
- Gavrilets, S. et al.. 2024. “Modeling social norms: an integration of the norm-utility approach with beliefs dynamics.” Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B 379: 27. [pdf]
- Zhang, B. et al.. 2024. “Kinship can hinder cooperation in heterogeneous populations.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 219: 231-243. [pdf]
- Ross, C. T. et al.. 2023. “Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals.” PNAS 120: e2220124120. [pdf]
- Turchin, P. et al.. 2022. “Disentangling the Evolutionary Drivers of Social Complexity: a Comprehensive Test of Hypotheses.” Science Advances 8: eabn3517. [pdf]
- Houle, C. et al.. 2022. “Inequality between identity groups and social unrest.” J. R. Soc. Interface 19: 20210725. [pdf]
- Gavrilets, S.. 2021. “Coevolution of actions, personal norms, and beliefs about others in social dilemmas.” Evolutionary Human Sciences 3: e44. [pdf]
- Richerson, P. J. et al.. 2021. “Modern theories of human evolution foreshadowed by Darwin's Descent of Man.” Science 372: eaba3776. [pdf]
- Gavrilets, S.. 2020. “The dynamics of injunctive social norm.” Evolutionary Human Sciences 2: e60. [pdf]
- Rusch, H. and S. Gavrilets. 2020. “The logic of animal intergroup conflict: A review.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 178: 1014-1030. [pdf]
Media coverage
Selected news coverage related to work on social complexity, human evolution, and more.
Book
Information on Fitness Landscapes and the Origin of Species, including the table of contents.
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