Gossip is ubiquitous – chances are that you have shared, heard, or been the topic of gossip today. Why do we love to talk about other people? Is gossiping part of our human nature? Are there benefits of gossip, to either the individual or to society? In this article I will review what researchers have learned about the nature of gossip, its bad reputation, and the numerous functions it serves in society. The dish on gossip: Its origins, functions, and bad reputation Think about the last conversation you had. What did you talk about? Was the conversation focused on yourself, or your...

Some years ago, when I first began writing about the evolution of human sociality, a colleague put to me the question: Why are humans still social? That “still” was weighty with meaning—the idea of a primal solitary state, to which humans might return, perhaps finally freed from group living by technological progress. I was dumbfounded. Humans have no choice but to live in groups. They are unable to reproduce and survive to reproductive age without a group, which makes them obligately interdependent. That interdependence is inscribed upon the body. We lack natural defenses such as impressive...

One of the most simplest things ever made was the scaffold. Thinking about its consequences however has recently opened up a world of possibilities for scientists that might lead to new ways of thinking about culture, the human mind, and their development.

Anger is defined as an unpleasant feeling that results from an unpleasant event and it is, therefore, not particularly surprising that so many people dismiss it as a pointless emotion. However, anger has proven to confer a great number of evolutionary benefits on those who utilize it, including (1) improving one’s bargaining position, (2) ensuring the wellbeing of society, (3) signalling to others that you care about the wellbeing of society, and (4) convincing authors to not begin abstracts with definitions or end them with extreme overgeneralizations. It is because of these benefits that...