We work with theories of social evolution in the hope that our findings will help to foster cooperation.

How We Work

Evolutionary theory is the framework we use to understand the apparent “design” of living things. With it, we generate hypotheses about the functions of particular features or traits and, from there, the forms those traits might take. For instance, many species have psychological mechanisms that function to recognize genealogical kin. However, each works in a different way. One mechanism leads individuals to help nest-mates, say, whereas another causes them to help others who look (or smell, or sound) similar. 

We believe that good theory is instrumental to good research. In the SALT Lab, our work begins by clarifying existing theories (e.g. Krupp 2013, in press) and by developing new ones (e.g. Krupp & Taylor 2013, 2015; Krupp & Maciejewski 2022). Thereafter, we develop hypotheses and design studies to test them. We use a diversity of empirical methods, including experimental games (e.g. Krupp et al. 2008, 2011; Krupp & Cook 2018) and social epidemiology (e.g. Krupp 2012; Krupp et al. 2012).

About The Name

SALT is just a bit of fun. Our proper name is the Social Evolution Lab, or SEL. In French, sel means salt. Appropriately, however, “salt” has another meaning—one hinted at in this, the first sentence of a singularly important paper: