Prof. Gillian Brown

@gillianrbrown1.bsky.social

Professor of psychology; University of St Andrews, UK; gender/sex, evolution, culture; she/her. 🌈 New edition: 'Sense & Nonsense: Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behaviour' (https://tinyurl.com/yfv2kc27) Lab: https://gillianbrown.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk

doi.org/10.1007/s102... #SPEetologia Research on European serins and common waxbills shows that female ornamentation is highly influenced by ecological and physiological factors. These highlight female colour plasticity as a key driver of sexual dichromatism and the evolution of visual signals.

Sex differences in bird ornamentation: female plasticity, ecological and physiological constraints - acta ethologica

Sexual dimorphism in bird ornamentation is well-documented, with male traits often emphasized in sexual selection studies, while female ornamentation remains understudied. Investigating European serins (Serinus serinus) and common waxbills (Estrilda astrild), I summarize experimental evidence revealing that sex differences in ornamentation arise from sex-specific ecological and physiological constraints, particularly affecting females. In European serins, female ornamentation does not function as a sexual or dominance signal, contrasting with males. In common waxbills, female bill colouration is highly plastic and sensitive to ecological conditions and oestradiol levels, leading to context-dependent sexual dichromatism that can be reduced or eliminated under favourable conditions. Together, these results challenge the view that sexual dichromatism is predominantly genetically fixed and male driven, highlighting female colouration plasticity as a key source of variation in ornamentation and social signalling. These findings underscore the need to integrate female colour variation for understanding the evolution of sexual and social signals.

doi.org

Gladstone et al (2026): "biographies of female scientists disproportionately emphasized effort even after adjusting for the obstacles they faced, consistent with stereotypes attributing women’s success to hard work over talent." 🧪 #psychscisky

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences@pnas.org · 6d ago

One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is ”Children’s books about scientists convey demotivating messages.” Explore the article here: https://ow.ly/oTon50ZuLj3 For more trending articles, visit https://ow.ly/TsjY50ZuLj2.

Dot plots for mindset messages about ability and interest. Diamonds with error bars mark marginal means.

🚨 PNAS paper: "Indirect reciprocity undermines indirect reciprocity destabilizing large-scale cooperation" w/ Eric Schnell How do we achieve global cooperation on climate or conflict reduction? The problem isn't selfishness as much as it is cooperation itself - at a smaller scale. 1/

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Representation in Psychology – just another impossible problem? Megan E. Birney (University of Birmingham) considers a WEIRD, but worryingly pervasive, research issue. Plus a response from the British Psychological Society's Academic Publications Team. www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

Representation in Psychology – just another impossible problem? | BPS

Megan E. Birney (University of Birmingham) considers a WEIRD, but worryingly pervasive, research issue. Plus a response from the British Psychological Society's Academic Publications Team.

bps.org.uk

“This paper explores the evolution of hereditarianism in its various forms, examining its connections to racism and anti-egalitarian politics. A consistent theme is the belief in the potential for genetic explanations of social inequalities both within and between groups”

Hereditarianism: a century of the science of inequality - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences

Hereditarianism, the belief that genetic factors significantly influence differences in behavioral traits and social outcomes, remains relevant in the age of polygenic embryo screening and social scie...

link.springer.com

Call to incorporate feminist theory into evolutionary psychology research on incels: "By looking at how men's expectations are constructed in society, EP could offer solutions that do not reaffirm sexual marketplaces but emancipate men from the discourses that suggest they must function in them"

Feminism is for every (academic) body: A critical commentary of evolutionary psychology incel research - Stu Lucy, 2026

Involuntary celibates, or ‘incels’, continue to receive increasing attention from a variety of academic positions. While most scholarship has added important co...

doi.org