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Welcome to the offical website of the Welsh Evolutionary Psychology Network (WEPN). WEPN is a research collaboration between evolutionary-minded psychologists currently working in Wales, United Kingdom.

Latest news

21/07/2021 - Sexy Beasts: Will covering the face increase dating prospects?

WEPN member Dr Thomas was recently interviewed by The Guardian about Netflix's new TV show "Sexy Beasts". The show, which is a spin on the traditional "blind date" format sees young couples donning elaborate animal prosthetics to hide their face. You can read the interview here.

Inspired by the interview and show, Dr Thomas elaborates on a few of the points made (a directors cut of the interview?) on a new Psychology Today post on his Darwin Does Dating blog: Animal Masks Probably Don’t Make for Better Dating Decisions.

06/07/2021 - Unpicking courtship disorders

Dr Thomas' new article "Sex Differences in Voyeuristic and Exhibitionistic Interests: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Sociosexuality and Sexual Compulsivity from an Evolutionary Perspective" has now been published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour. The article is open sourced and can be accessed here.

15/06/2021 - Recent WEPN publications

Reasons of Singles for Being Single: Evidence from Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan and the UK has recently been puiblished in Cross-Cultural Research. The study, co-authored by WEPN's own Dr O and Dr Thomas uses a large international sample to examine whether the reasons for being single (e.g., percieved inability to attract partners, holding off for the "right person") are fairly similar across cultures.

12/06/2020 - Fancy dating Darwin?

Dr Thomas has launched a new twitter account "Darwin Does Dating" (@DarwinDating). It's purpose - to bring relationship research to the people. (With added insights from evolutionary psychology!)

01/06/2020 - New research from WEPN: How do the sexes react to news of sex differences?

Do men look upon sex-difference research more favourably if it's conclusions paint men in a better light than women? Dr Thomas latest manuscript Reactions to male-favouring vs. female-favouring sex differences: A Preregistered Experiment and Southeast Asian Replication. Has just been accepted in the British Journal of Psychology. You can a pre-print of the article here.

19/03/2020 - New Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology Launched

Prof Workman has recently published a new handbook on Evolutionary Psychology. The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior is published by Cambridge University Press and is currently availale to buy on Amazon.

13/10/2019 - Research on flexible mating strategies? It's about TIME

Dr Thomas' recent work on mate preference priorities has been picked up by over 30 media outlets, including TIME magazine:

08/09/2019 - Mate preferences priorities across the globe.

Dr Thomas' recent research into the universal nature of mate preference prioritisation has been recently published in the Journal of Personality. The research (n = 2,477) considers what students from the UK, Norway, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore prioritise in a long-term partner. You can find it here.

08/06/2019 - Research on Singlehood

Dr Thomas and Dr O are is currently running an online study into Singlehood alongside Dr Menelaos Aspostolou (University of Nicosia). The study aims to investigate the many reasons why are single and whether these differ cross-culturally. The questionnaire can be found here if you would like to participate.

01/06/2019 - WEPN at HBES

Two members of WEPN recently presented papers at the 31st Annual Human Behavior & Evolution Society Conference in Boston, MA. Dr Greengross gave an entertaining talk about his meta-analysis on humour (Sex differences in humor production ability - a meta-analysis) and Dr Thomas presented results of his recent study on cross-cultural similarities in mate priorities (East meets West in mate preferences, except when it doesn't: An international budget-allocation study.).

16/03/2019 - Website launched

The offical website of the Welsh Evolutionary Psychology Network (WEPN) has been launched. Please check back regularly for updates.

26/02/2019 - How do fake reviews take hold?

Dr Thomas appeared on the BBC Wales show X-Ray. In the show, comedian Omar Hamdi investigated the undergroun trade in fake online reviews. Dr Thomas added his expertise on how fake reviews take advantage of weaknesses in human decision making.

02/01/2019 - Is SAD in the eye of the beholder?

Prof. Workman’s research into the notion that blue eye pigment arose as an adaptation to counter seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in people living at northern latitudes has been featured in the national and international press recently. He was interviewed by BBC World Service about this research and his follow up conversation article attracted more than 100,000 reads.

01/01/2019 - Grant awarded for research into the evolutionary underpinnings of harassment

Dr Thomas has been awarded Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS) from the European Union (£14,587). The scholarship, which is partially funded by the Welsh Government, will be used to fund a MSc by Research student to develop a sexual harassment intervention grounded in evolutionary psychological theory. The research is being co-supervised by Prof. Jason Davies, Swansea University.

14/11/2018 - How humour can change your relationship

Is humour used as a conflict resolution tool among lovers? Dr Greengross has a new article in The Conversation discussing the role of humour in relationships. You can read the piece here.

05/10/2018 - Modesty at the BBC

Dr O's article Cross-cultural regularities in the cognitive architecture of pride covered by BBC Future in a piece called Why we shoudn't be too modest. You can read the piece here.

09/05/2018 - Humour may not be so good for your health after all

Did you know that improv artists may be more susceptable to infections than others? Dr Greengross has a new article in The Conversation discussing some of the lesser known, darker, associations of humour. You can read the piece here.

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