Dissertation topics (MSc CEA)

Examples of Dissertation Topics submitted for the MSc Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology

The MSc concludes with a 15,000-word research dissertation to be completed over the summer months, which is submitted and examined at the end of August.

Examples of previous dissertation titles include: 

Does self-other blurring reduce the egocentric bias in belief attribution?: exploring the impact of movement synchrony on mentalisation.

Gestural Communication During Primate Self-Medication Events? An analysis of multi-modal signalling between mother and infant chimpanzees. 

Learning to be Religious: Is Religious Norm Internalization Mediated by the Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene?

Stress-adapted is not impaired. Identifying and leveraging stress-adapted skills among children and adolescents in a Brazilian favela.

An Investigation of the Roots of Mate Choice and Homogamy Using Face Morphing Software.

Unpacking the ‘small self’: a virtual reality study into the effects of awe-inspiring experiences on generosity.  

The Responsibility Gap: Investigating Attributions of Responsibility in Situations of a Moral Violation by an AI Agent.

Are we mates, or are we just mates? An investigation into how romantic attraction and relationship status can impact expectations for cross-sex friendships.

Applying Synchrony to Real-World Natural Group Boundaries.

Why do female chimpanzees become more frequent and efficient nut-crackers? An investigation into the developmental origins of the female bias in chimpanzee nut-cracking.

On Causally Opaque Rituals and Their Psychological Potency in Producing Erroneous Pattern Detection and Biased Attributions of Causality.

Can genetic variation in THC-metabolizing enzymes be explained by the ethnogeography of cannabis usage rates and cultivation history?

Trust in testimony: does deferring to consensus in scientific and religious rationalisation reflect a poor epistemic understanding of science?

It’s not fair! Testing for inequity aversion in primates.

Evolution in mind: Is the cultural evolution of cognitive mechanisms analogous to that of cultural skills?

aDNA Relatedness Analysis to Enhance Cultural Interpretations of Prehistoric Cannibalism.

The social placebo hypothesis: Do amateur cyclists with social support consume less energy drink and exhibit enhanced motivation?

The Cheek of It: Tracing the Origins of Zygomatic Robusticity in Female H. sapiens.

The evolutionary origin of music – A cross-cultural investigation.

Watching drama: Does brain-to-brain synchrony mediate the effects of shared emotional arousal on audience social bonding and creativity?

Power and risk in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): An analysis of leadership with power distribution as a risk mitigation strategy using agent-based simulations.

Roles of adaptation and transmission in Sino-Tibetan cultural diversity.

 

NEXT - Further study