Project Details

Dr Jeremy Kendal

Personal web pages

(email at jeremy.kendal@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

BSc (Hons) in Biology, University of Nottingham (1997)

MSc in Biological Computation, University of York (1998).

PhD entitled Social Learning: Mechanisms, Functions and Evolutionary Consequences (2003), Sub-Dept. of Animal Behaviour, Dept. of Zoology, University of Cambridge, supervised by Kevin Laland.

Postdoc, Feldman lab, Stanford University (2003-5), developing mathematical models of cultural evolution in humans.

Postdoc, Laland Lab, University of St. Andrews (2005-7), using behaviour experiments and mathematical models to investigate the evolution of social learning strategies.

RCUK Research Fellowship, Durham University (2007-2012).

Research Interests

My research interests include innovation, social learning, gene-culture coevolution, cultural evolution and niche construction. To this end, I use controlled laboratory experiments, computer simulation and mathematical modelling.

Option Bias Software

You are welcome to use our Option Bias R code for identifying social learning in social groups - see R. Kendal et al 2009, PLoS ONE: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0006541

Download the code from 'Personal web pages' at the top of this page.

Research Groups

• Anthropology in Development
• CCBC Cultural Diversification
• CCBC Disease
• CCBC Innovation and Social learning
• Evolutionary Anthropology Research Group
• Medical Anthropology Research Group

Publications

Articles: review

• Kendal, J.R. 2008. Modelling social learning in monkeys. Behavioral Analyst Today
• Kendal, J.R. 2006. Review of ``Social Learning and Imitation'': Volume 32(1), 2004, of Learning and Behavior. Interaction Studies 7: 273-288.

Books: sections

• Laland, K.N., Kendal, J.R. & Kendal, R.L. 2009. Animal culture: problems and solutions. In The Question of Animal Culture. Laland, K.N. & Galef, B.G. Jr. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
• Laland, K.N. & Kendal, J.R. 2003. What the models say about animal social learning. In Fragaszy, D.M. & Perry, S. Chicago University Press. 33-55.

Departmental working papers

• Kendal, J.R. , Ihara, Y. & Feldman, M.W. 2005. Cultural niche construction with application to fertility control: a model for education and social transmission of contraceptive use. Morrison Institute Working Paper Series 102.

Journal papers: academic

• Kendal, Jeremy R., Rendell, Luke, Pike, Thomas W. & Laland, Kevin N. 2009. Nine-spined sticklebacks deploy a hill-climbing social learning strategy. Behavioral Ecology 20(2): 238-244. (Additional information) (View publication online)
• Kendal, Jeremy R., Giraldeau, Luc-Alain & Laland, Kevin N. 2009. The evolution of social learning rules: Payoff-biased and frequency-dependent biased transmission. Journal of Theoretical Biology 260: 210-219. (Additional information) (View publication online)
• Laland, K.N., Odling-Smee, J., Feldman, M.W. & Kendal, J.R. 2008. Conceptual Barriers to Progress Within Evolutionary Biology. Foundations of Science (Additional information)
• Stanley EL,, Kendal RL,, Kendal JR,, Grounds S, & Laland KN. 2008. Factors affecting the stability of foraging traditions in fishes. Animal Behaviour 75: 565-572. (Additional information)
• Kendal, J.R., Kendal, R.L. & Laland, K.N. 2007. Erratum to Quantifying and modelling social learning processes in Monkey Populations. ournal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy 8(1).
• Kendal JR, , Kendal RL, & Laland KN. 2007. Quantifying and modeling social learning processes in monkey populations. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy 7(2): 123-138. (Additional information)
• Laland, K.N., Kendal, J.R. & Brown, G. 2007. The niche constructive perspective: implications for human behaviour. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 5: 51-66.
• Kendal J,, Feldman MW, & Aoki K 2006. Cultural coevolution of norm adoption and enforcement when punishers are rewarded or non-punishers are punished. Theoretical Population Biology 70(1): 10-25. (Additional information) (View publication online)
• Borenstein, E, Kendal, J & Feldman, M 2006. Cultural Niche Construction in a metapopulation. Theoretical Population Biology 70(1): 92-104. (Additional information) (View publication online)
• Day RL,, Coe RL,, Kendal JR, & Laland KN. 2003. Neophilia, innovation and social learning: A study of intergeneric differences in Callitrichid monkeys. Animal Behaviour 65: 559-571. (Additional information)
• Reader, S.M. Kendal, J.R. & Laland, K.N. 2003. Social learning through local enhancement in wild guppy fish in Trinidad. Animal Behaviour 66: 729-739.
• Swaney, W. Kendal, J.R. , Capon, H. Brown, C. & Laland, K.N. 2001. Familiarity facilitates social learning of foraging behaviour in the guppy. Animal Behaviour 62: 591-598.
• Kendal, J.R. & Laland, K.N. 2000. Mathematical models for memetics. Journal of Memetics 4: 0.

Journal papers: online

• Tanaka, Mark M., Kendal, Jeremy R. & Laland, Kevin N. 2009. From Traditional Medicine to Witchcraft: Why Medical Treatments Are Not Always Efficacious. PLoS ONE 4(4): 1-9. (Additional information) (View publication online)
• Kendal Rachel L., Kendal Jeremy R., Hoppitt Will & Laland Kevin N. 2009. Identifying Social Learning in Animal Populations: A New ‘Option-Bias’ Method. PLoS ONE 4(8): 1-9. (Additional information) (View publication online)

Short Works

• Kendal Jeremy R., Tehrani Jamshid J. & Kendal Rachel L. 2009. The Evolution of Human Behaviour. (Additional information)
• Rendell, L. Hoppitt, W. & Kendal, JR. 2008. Commentary: Is all learning innovation? Behavioral and Brain Sciences 30(4): 421-422.
• Day RL,, Kendal JR, & Laland KN, 2001. Validating cultural transmission in Cetaceans. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 24: 330-331. (Additional information)

Media Contacts

Available for media contact about:

• Evolution: Social Learning - examining how animals and humans learn from one another.
• Evolution: gene-culture coevolution - examining the interaction between the evolution of genetic traits and cultural traits.
• Evolution: niche construction - examining the evolutionary consequences of organisms modifying their environment
• Evolution: Cultural evolution - examining the spread of cultural traits.

Supervises

• Mr Vittorio Magnano