Sapiens, an online magazine published by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, recently posted an article about the Human Generosity Project. Scientific American and Discover, which are popular popular science magazines, also posted the article. The article focuses mainly on Cathryn Townsend’s work with the Ik in Uganda. The Ik, described by anthropologist Colin Turnbull as “the loveless people”, have often been considered as an example of a society devoid of generosity. However, Townsend’s work challenges that notion and explores a more complete picture of generosity among the Ik. The article also provides an overview of some of the key findings and questions being investigated by the Human Generosity Project and features quotes by project directors Athena Aktipis and Lee Cronk. Click here to read the article.

On January 10 and 11, Human Generosity Project team members met in Tempe, Arizona for their annual team meeting. During the meeting, the researchers discussed their findings, current research projects, and potential future directions. The meeting also served as a platform for forging new collaborations and getting input from the project’s scientific advisors. The meeting was made possible by support from the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University and the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at Arizona State University.

The John Templeton Foundation Publishes Article
About the Human Generosity Project

The John Templeton Foundation, a funding partner of the Human Generosity Project, recently published an article that delves into some of the findings and outreach initiatives carried out by the HGP.

Click here to read the full article.

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PBS Covers the Human Generosity Project

Arizona PBS recently aired an episode about the Human Generosity Project. In this episode, field site supervisors Tom Conte, Cathryn Townsend, and Helen Wasielewski, as well as directors Athena Aktipis and Lee Cronk, discuss how different societies deal with unpredictable environments. The episode delves into how societies ranging from Mongolian herders to ranchers in the American Southwest deal with cyclones, raids by neighboring villagers, brutal winter conditions, and other unpredictable adversities. Although these societies are diverse in their cultural practices and the types of difficulties that they have to overcome, they are all characterized by the formation of relationships in which help is given on the basis of need.

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HGP Members Present at Human Behavior and Evolution Society Meeting

Eight Human Generosity Project team members gave presentations at this year’s annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, which was held from July 4 through July 7 at the University of Amsterdam. Presenting at the meeting were Athena Aktipis, Lee Cronk, Cathryn Townsend, Thomas Conte, Daniel Sznycer, Jessica Ayers, Daniel Balliet, and Olmo van den Akker.

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HGP Member Featured on ASU Now

Andres Munoz, a member of the The Human Generosity Project, was interviewed for an ASU Now article. ASU Now is an Arizona State University multimedia news website. The article was accompanied by a video interview, both of which focused on the research conducted by Munoz as part of the Human Generosity Project. His research focuses on cognitive mechanisms that allow people to detect violations of need-based transfer rules, such as when a person is greedy by asking for resources when not in need or when a person who has a surplus of a resource is stingy by refusing to give to someone in need who asks.
Click here to read the full article.

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Colette Berbesque Quoted in Science

Colette Berbesque, Hadza field site supervisor for The Human Generosity Project, was quoted at length in an article in the May 18, 2018 issue of Science. The Hadza are one of the world’s last remaining groups of hunter-gatherers. The article documents the many threats that now exist to the Hadza’s way of life.

Click here to read the full article.

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HGP Members Engage With the Community During Rutgers Day

On Saturday, April 30, Rutgers Human Generosity Project team members Lee Cronk, Thomas Conte, Cathryn Townsend, and Denise Mercado participated in Rutgers Day, the university’s annual spring festival and open house. Their display featured The Survival Game, in which people pretend to be Maasai herders. As the years go by, their herds grow and shrink, and they have the opportunity to help each other, just like the Maasai themselves. They used a low tech version of The Survival Game that is now on display at the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco. To learn more about the Exploratorium’s version of the game, check out Hugh McDonald’s “Exhibitizing Cooperation” blog by clicking here.

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HGP Featured in Rutgers Magazine

Rutgers Magazine, a magazine that is widely distributed to alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Rutgers University, recently published a news story about the Human Generosity Project. The story focuses on the research being conducted by HGP Mongolia field site supervisor Thomas Conte and Ik field site supervisor Cathryn Townsend.

Click here to read the Rutgers news story

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Human Generosity Project members visit Arizona’s Malpai Ranch

On April 22, 2017, Human Generosity co-director Lee Cronk (at the far right in the above photo) and Maasai field site supervisor Dennis Sonkoi (far left) visited the Malpai Ranch in the far southeastern corner of Arizona. The ranch is home to Warner Glenn (next to Dennis), his daughter Kelly Glenn-Kimbro (next to Lee) and Kelly’s daughter Mackenzie (center). In addition to enhancing our ability to compare across our many field sites, the visit was also something of a homecoming for Dennis, whose first visit to the United States several years ago was part of a cultural exchange between Malpai-area ranchers, including the Glenns, and Maasai from both Kenya and Tanzania. In addition to visits like this one, Cronk is also using his time in Arizona and New Mexico to conduct interviews with some of the many ranchers who responded to the project’s recent mail survey.

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