The Cooperation Lab was founded in 2019 by Dr Manon Schweinfurth and focuses on the evolutionary and psychological origins of cooperation. We aim at understanding how and why seemingly altruistic behaviours emerge and persist in a competitive world. To this end, we study several species. Our current focus lies on chimpanzees, humans and Norway rats in lab, zoo and sanctuary settings.
We are based in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews. Our lab belongs to the Origins of Mind department, which is part of the Center for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution. We are an international, collaborative and interdisciplinary department, working on a range of exciting questions while combining different disciplines and collecting data on animals and humans. We benefit from shared seminars and close collaborations within and between different schools of the University of St Andrews. In addition, there is an interactive Comparative Primatology community within Scotland, i.e. the Scottish Primate Research Group.
Interested in working with us? Please take a look at 'opportunities' to see our most recent advertisements and projects. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
