The Cooperation Lab was founded in 2019 by Dr Manon Schweinfurth and focuses on the evolutionary and psychological origins of cooperation. Specifically, 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 and Norway rats in lab, zoo and sanctuary settings in addition to humans.

We are based in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews. Our lab is well connected and part of the Origins of Mind Research Group, Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences, and the Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences. We are an international, collaborative and interdisciplinary lab, 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.

At the Cooperation Lab, we not only study cooperation, but live it every day. We believe that collaborative and supportive working practices are the foundation of excellent research. We are committed to conducting our studies to the highest ethical standards, showing respect and care for all our participants, whatever their species. We strive to use resources responsibly and to minimise our impact on the environment, recognising our responsibility to protect the natural world we study. We also value continuous professional development and aim to create an environment in which all lab members and our students can grow, learn and thrive together. If you share our values and would like to join our lab, please get in touch.

We are very grateful to have received generous funding to conduct our research from: