How to convince others of what’s right and wrong: here is a popular-science press release presenting the findings from our latest paper. Arguments that don’t fit are filtered out, while those that connect to what already exists in your belief system get through and can force a reassessment.

Despite the current state of politics, moral views have become more progressive over time. Why? In an experiment we found that the arguments that make liberals more liberal also persuade conservatives, whereas the arguments that make conservatives more conservative don't persuade liberals.

💥New postdoc position! 💥 Join us to explore how people learn from each other—and how that drives cultural evolution. Run experiments, build computational models & collaborate across Europe w. @lucasmolleman.bsky.social 📍 Stockholm More info: shorturl.at/CY4wk

We're employing several PhD students in maths with opportunities to work on cultural evolution, societal consequences of AI, polarisation, discrimination and large language models. Apply by 6 May or please help us spread the message!

Our new paper suggests that transmissible sender characteristics, such as the ability to persuade people and communicate effectively, might play a more significant role in cultural evolution than how we learn and from whom.