Staff profile

Welcome

Welcome to my Durham University staff profile page. Please see my personal web page to find out more about my research.

Research Interests Summary: I am an interdisciplinary researcher with overlapping interests in cultural evolution, animal behaviour and primatology. My focus is on cultural transmisison, specifically social learning and behavioural innovation in a range of species from fish to monkeys to humans with a view to understanding the evolution of human culture. My approach emphasizes the importance of maintaining ecological validity, the integration of empirical and theoretical work and applications to societal isseus and public engagement. I have worked with, or am currently working with, laboratory populations of fish (guppies, mollies and sticklebacks) , captive (callitrichids, capuchins, lemurs, chimpanzees, Barbary macaques), and wild (lemurs, capuchins) nonhuman primates, as well as children in UK schools and science centres and communities in Indonesia.

Short Biography: I completed a BSc in Behavioural Science at Nottingham University in 1998, then went on to receive my PhD in Zoology from Cambridge University in 2003. Following a career break, I began a Royal Society Dorothy Hoddgkin Fellowship in 2006, based in the Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution at St Andrews University. I continued this fellowship here in the Department of Anthropology before becoming an Assistant Professor in 2012, Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in 2014, Associate Professor (Reader) in 2017, and Professor in 2020.

Recent Grants

John Templeton Foundation: Transforming the Field of Cultural Evolution and its Application to Human Futures (2021: PI, £2,847,410) see website: Home - Cultural Evolution Society Transformation Fund (ces-transformationfund.org)

MRC-GCRF 'Health in Context': Factors Affecting Childhood Exposures to Urban Particles (2020: Co-I, £2,000,000)

• Social Learning
• Behavioural Innovation
• Cultural Evolution
• Cumulative Culture
• Applications to Welfare, Conservation & Science Communication

• 2022: International Scientific Advisory Board member for the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig (Germany): Home - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (mpg.de)
• 2020: Past-President of the Cultural Evolution Society:
• 2018: President of the Cultural Evolution Society:
• 2017: President-Elect of the Cultural Evolution Society:
• 2013: Academic Editor for the journal Plos One:
• 2010: Council Member of the Primate Society of Great Britain: (Convenor of the Research Working Party)

Chapter in book

• Kendal, R. (in press). Cultural Evolution: Innovation, Social learning, Cumulative culture & Applications. In M. Gelfand MJ, C. Chiu, & Y. Hong (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Advances in Culture & Psychology Vol. 11. Oxford University Press
• Bailey-Ross, C., Rudman, H., Kendal, J., Mursic, Z., Lloyd, A., Ross, B., & Kendal, R. (in press). Reconnecting epistemologies via co-design and participatory action research practice. In C. Hayes, J. Fulton, & K. Petrie (Eds.), Beyond disciplinarity in social research : methodologies, epistemologies and philosophies. Routledge
• Kendal, R., & Watson, R. (2023). Adaptive Social Learning: Social Learning Strategies and their Applications. In J. J. Tehrani, J. Kendal, & R. Kendal (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Cultural Evolution. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198869252.013.14
• Kendal, R. L. (2022). Social Learning Strategies. In M. A. Krause, K. L. Hollis, & M. R. Papini (Eds.), Evolution of Learning and Memory Mechanisms (247-264). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108768450.017
• Kendal, R. L. (2021). Social Learning and Teaching Overview. In A. B. Kaufman, J. Call, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Animal Cognition (443-471). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108564113.024
• Vale, G., Carr, K., Dean, L., & Kendal, R. (2017). The cultural capacity of human and nonhuman primates: Social learning, innovation, and cumulative culture. In J. Kass (Ed.), Evolution of nervous systems (second edition) (475-508). (2nd ed.). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-804042-3.00095-6
• Kendal, R. (2015). Social learning and culture in non-human organisms. In J. Wright (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social and behavioural sciences (401-408). (2nd ed.). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.81043-0
• Kendal, R., Coolen, I., & Laland, K. (2009). Adaptive Trade-offs in the use of Social and Personal Information. In R. Dukas, & J. Ratcliffe (Eds.), Cognitive ecology II (249-271). The University of Chicago Press
• Laland, K., Kendal, J., & Kendal, R. (2009). Animal culture: problems and solutions. In K. Laland, & B. Galef (Eds.), The Question of Animal Culture. Harvard University Press

Doctoral Thesis

• Day, R. (2003). Innovation and social learning in monkeys and fish: Empirical findings and their application to reintroduction techniques. (Thesis). University of Cambridge. https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1618638

Journal Article

• Coelho, C., Garcia-Nisa, I., Ottoni, E., & Kendal, R. (in press). Social tolerance and success-biased social learning underlies cultural transmission in a wild tool-using primate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
• Huang, P., Arlet, M. E., Balasubramaniam, K. N., Beisner, B. A., Bliss-Moreau, E., Brent, L. J. N., Duboscq, J., García-Nisa, I., Kaburu, S. S. K., Kendal, R., Konečná, M., Marty, P. R., McCowan, B., Micheletta, J., Ostner, J., Schülke, O., Schino, G., & Majolo, B. (2024). Relationship between dominance hierarchy steepness and rank-relatedness of benefits in primates. Behavioral Ecology, 35(5), Article arae066. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arae066
• Watson, R., Morgan, T., Kendal, R., Van de Vyver, J., & Kendal, J. (2024). Investigating the effects of social information on spite in an online game. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 6, Article e26. https://doi.org/10.1017/ehs.2024.18
• Galesic, M., Barkoczi, D., Berdahl, A. M., Biro, D., Carbone, G., Giannoccaro, I., Goldstone, R. L., Gonzalez, C., Kandler, A., Kao, A. B., Kendal, R., Kline, M., Lee, E., Massari, G. F., Mesoudi, A., Olsson, H., Pescetelli, N., Sloman, S. J., Smaldino, P. E., & Stein, D. L. (2023). Beyond collective intelligence: Collective adaptation. Journal of the Royal Society. Interface, 20(200), https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2022.0736
• Garcia-Nisa, I., Evans, C., & Kendal, R. L. (2023). The influence of task difficulty, social tolerance and model success on social learning in Barbary macaques. Scientific Reports, 13, Article 1176. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26699-6
• Aung, T., Hill, A. K., Pfefferle, D., McLester, E., Fuller, J., Lawrence, J. M., Garcia-Nisa, I., Kendal, R. L., Petersdorf, M., Higham, J. P., Galat, G., Lameira, A. R., Apicella, C. L., Barelli, C., Glenn, M. E., Ramos-Fernandez, G., & Puts, D. A. (2023). Group size and mating system predict sex differences in vocal fundamental frequency in anthropoid primates. Nature Communications, 14(1), Article 4069. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39535-w
• Rawlings, B., Flynn, E., & Kendal, R. (2022). Personality predicts innovation and social learning in children: implications for cultural evolution. Developmental Science, 25(1), Article e13153. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13153
• Watson, R., Morgan, T. J., Kendal, R. L., Van de Vyver, J., & Kendal, J. (2021). Social learning strategies and cooperative behaviour: Evidence of payoff bias, but not prestige or conformity, in a social dilemma game. Games, 12(4), Article 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/g12040089
• Reindl, E., Gwillians, A., Dean, L., Kendal, R., & Tennie, C. (2020). Skills and motivations underlying children's cumulative cultural learning: case not closed. Palgrave communications, 6, Article 106. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0483-7
• Rawlings, B., Flynn, E., Freeman, H., Reamer, L., Schapiro, S., Lambeth, S., & Kendal, R. (2020). Sex differences in longitudinal personality stability in chimpanzees. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 2, Article e46. https://doi.org/10.1017/ehs.2020.45
• Gruber, T., Luncz, L., Moerchen, J., Schuppli, C., Kendal, R., & Hockings, K. (2019). Cultural change in animals: a flexible behavioural adaptation to human disturbance. Palgrave communications, 5, Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0271-4
• Kendal, R. (2019). Explaining Human Technology. Nature Human Behaviour, 2019(3), 422–423. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0578-6
• Evans, C., Laland, K., Carpenter, M., & Kendal, R. (2018). Selective copying of the majority suggests children are broadly “optimal-” rather than “over-” imitators. Developmental Science, 21(5), https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12637
• Watson, S., Vale, G., Hopper, L., Dean, L., Kendal, R., Price, E., Wood, L., Davis, S., Schapiro, S., Lambeth, S., & Whiten, A. (2018). Chimpanzees demonstrate individual differences in social information use. Animal Cognition, 21(5), 639-650. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-018-1198-7
• Rudman, H., Bailey-Ross, C., Kendal, J., Mursic, Z., Lloyd, A., Ross, B., & Kendal, R. L. (2018). Multidisciplinary exhibit design in a Science Centre: a participatory action research approach. Educational Action Research, 26(4), 567-588-588. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2017.1360786
• Kendal, R., Boogert, N., Rendell, L., Laland, K., Webster, M., & Jones, P. (2018). Social Learning Strategies: Bridge-building between fields. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 22(7), 651-665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.04.003
• Vale, G., Flynn, E. G., Kendal, J., Rawlings, B., Hopper Lydia, M., Schapiro Steven, J., Lambeth Susan, P., & Kendal, R. (2017). Testing differential use of payoff-biased social learning strategies in children and chimpanzees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1868), Article 20171751. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1751
• Rawlings, B., Flynn, E., & Kendal, R. (2017). To copy or to innovate? The role of personality and social networks on children's learning strategies. Child Development Perspectives, 11(1), 39-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12206
• van Leeuwen, E., Acerbi, A., Kendal, R., Tennie, C., & Haun, D. (2016). A reappreciation of ‘conformity’. Animal Behaviour, 122, e5-e10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.09.010
• Carr, K., Kendal, R., & Flynn, E. (2016). Eureka!: What is innovation, how does it develop, and who does it?. Child Development, 87(5), 1505-1519. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12549
• Vale, G., Flynn, E., Pender, L., Price, E., Whiten, A., Lambeth, P., Schapiro, S., & Kendal, R. (2016). Robust retention and transfer of tool construction techniques in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 130(1), 24-35. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040000
• Kendal, R., Kendal, J., Mursic, Z., Bailey-Ross, C., Rudman, H., Lloyd, A., & Ross, B. (2016). Designing for creativity and innovation in informal science learning. 00 Journal not listed, 20-24
• van Leeuwen, E., Kendal, R., Tennie, C., & Haun, D. (2015). Conformity and its look-a-likes. Animal Behaviour, 110, e1-e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.07.030
• Wood, L., Kendal, R., & Flynn, E. (2015). Does a peer model’s task proficiency influence children’s solution choice and innovation?. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 139, 190-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2015.06.003
• Carr, K., Kendal, R., & Flynn, E. (2015). Imitate or Innovate? Children’s Innovation is Influenced by the Efficacy of Observed Behaviour. Cognition, 142, 322-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2015.05.005
• Kendal, R., Hopper, L., Whiten, A., Brosnan, S., Lambeth, S., Schapiro, S., & Hoppitt, W. (2015). Chimpanzees copy dominant and knowledgeable individuals: Implications for cultural diversity. Evolution and Human Behavior, 36(1), 65-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.09.002
• Dean, L., & Kendal, R. (2015). Subjectivity may hinder the application of Kline's teaching framework in comparative contexts. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 38, Article e38. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x14000478
• Hopper, L., Price, S., Freeman, H., Lambeth, S., Schapiro, S., & Kendal, R. (2014). Influence of personality, age, sex, and oestrus state on chimpanzee problem-solving success. Animal Cognition, 17(4), 835-847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0715-y
• Dean, L., Vale, G., Laland, K., Flynn, E., & Kendal, R. (2014). Human cumulative culture: a comparative perspective. Biological Reviews, 89(2), 284-301. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12053
• Vale, G., Flynn, E., Lambeth, S., Schapiro, S., & Kendal, R. (2014). Public information use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 128(2), 215-223. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034420
• Wood, L., Kendal, R., & Flynn, E. (2013). Whom do children copy? Model-based biases in learning. Developmental Review, 33(4), 341-356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2013.08.002
• Wood, L., Kendal, R., & Flynn, E. (2013). Copy you or copy me? The effect of prior personally-acquired, and alternative method, information on imitation. Cognition, 127(2), 203-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2013.01.002
• Flynn, E., Laland, K., Kendal, R., & Kendal, J. (2013). Developmental niche construction. Developmental Science, 16(2), 296-313. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12030
• Wood, L., Kendal, R., & Flynn, E. (2012). Context-dependent model-based biases in cultural transmission: Children’s imitation is affected by model age over model knowledgeable state. Evolution and Human Behavior, 33(4), 387-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.11.010
• Dean, L., Kendal, R., Schapiro, S., Thierry, B., & Laland, K. (2012). Identification of the social and cognitive processes underlying human cumulative culture. Science, 335(6072), 1114-1118. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1213969
• Vale, G., Flynn, E., & Kendal, R. (2012). Cumulative culture and future thinking: Is mental time travel a prerequisite to cumulative cultural evolution?. Learning and Motivation, 43, 220-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2012.05.010
• Kendal, R., Custance, D., Kendal, J., Vale, G., Stoinski, T., Rakotomalala, N., & Rasaminanana, H. (2010). Evidence for social learning in wild lemurs (Lemur catta). Learning & Behavior, 38(3), 220-234. https://doi.org/10.3758/lb.38.3.220
• Kendal, R., Galef, B., & van Schaik, C. (2010). Social learning research outside the laboratory: How and Why?. Learning & Behavior, 38(3), 187-194. https://doi.org/10.3758/lb.38.3.187
• Kendal, R., Kendal, J., Hoppitt, W., & Laland, K. (2009). Identifying Social Learning in Animal Populations: A New ‘Option-Bias’ Method. PLoS ONE, 4(8), Article e6541. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006541
• Hoppitt, W., Brown, G., Kendal, R., Rendell, L., Thornton, A., Webster, M., & Laland, K. (2008). Lessons from animal teaching. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 23, 486-493
• Stanley, E., Kendal, R., Kendal, J., Grounds, S., & Laland, K. (2008). Factors affecting the stability of foraging traditions in fishes. Animal Behaviour, 75, 565-572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.06.014
• Kendal, R., Dean, L., & Laland, K. (2007). Objectivism should not be a casualty of innovation’s operationalization. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 30(4), 413-414. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x07002440
• Kendal, J., Kendal, R., & Laland, K. (2007). Quantifying and modeling social learning processes in monkey populations
• Kendal, R., Coolen, I., van Bergen, Y., & Laland, K. (2005). Trade-offs in the adaptive use of social and asocial learning. Advances in the study of behavior, 35, 333-379. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-3454%2805%2935008-x
• Kendal, R., Coe, R., & Laland, K. (2005). Age differences in neophilia, exploration, and innovation in family groups of callitrichid monkeys. American Journal of Primatology, 66(2), 167-188. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20136
• Laland, K., Coolen, I., & Kendal, R. (2005). Defining the Concept of Public Information (Letter: Response from Kevin N. Laland, Isabelle Coolen, and Rachel Kendal). Science, 308(5720), 354-355. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.308.5720.353c
• Kendal, R., Coolen, I., & Laland, K. (2004). The role of conformity in foraging when personal and social information conflict. Behavioral Ecology, 15(2), 269-277. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arh008
• Coolen, I., van Bergen, Y., Day, R., & Laland, K. (2003). Species differences in adaptive use of public information in sticklebacks. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 270(1531), 2413-2419. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2525
• Day, R., Coolen, I., van Bergen, Y., & Laland, K. (2003). Commentary upon article, 'Social Conventions in Wild White-faced Capuchin Monkeys'. Current Anthropology, 44, 258-259. https://doi.org/10.1086/345825
• Day, R., Laland, K., & Odling-Smee, J. (2003). Rethinking Adaptation: The Niche Construction Perspective. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 46, 80-95
• Day, R., Coe, R., Kendal, J., & Laland, K. (2003). Neophilia, innovation and social learning: A study of intergeneric differences in Callitrichid monkeys. Animal Behaviour, 65, 559-571. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2003.2074
• Brown, C., & Day, R. (2002). The future of stock enhancements: lessons for hatchery practice from conservation biology. Fish and Fisheries, 3, 79-94
• Day, R., MacDonald, T., Brown, C., Laland, K., & Reader, S. (2001). Interactions between shoal size and conformity in guppy social foraging. Animal Behaviour, 62, 917-925. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2001.1820
• Day, R., Kendal, J., & Laland, K. (2001). Validating cultural transmission in Cetaceans. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(2), 330-331. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x01293960

Manual

• Kendal, J., Tehrani, J., & Kendal, R. (2009). The Evolution of Human Behaviour

Other (Print)

• Kendal, R. (2014). The human race evolved to be fair for selfish reasons
• Kendal, R. (2008). Animal ‘Culture Wars’; Evidence from the Wild?