Emma Cohen

Professor Emma Cohen is a leading scholar in Cognitive Anthropology at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Institute of Human Sciences (SAME) and serving as a Tutorial Fellow at Wadham College. Her research focuses on social affiliation, cultural transmission, and the evolutionary underpinnings of collective human behavior, particularly through physical activities and social markers.

• PhD in Anthropology, Queen’s University Belfast (2005)
• Postdoctoral roles at Max Planck Institutes (Germany/Netherlands) and Oxford’s Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology

Key research areas include:

• Social bonding through synchronized activities (dance, exercise)
• Accent perception and children’s social preferences
• Evolution of religious beliefs and moralistic deities
• Placebo effects in physical performance
• Chimpanzee technological behavior

Her recent work bridges evolutionary frameworks with contemporary health, exploring how social support and collective rituals impact wellbeing. Publications highlight interdisciplinary methodologies combining ethnography, experiments, and cross-cultural analysis.

Contact: emma.cohen@anthro.ox.ac.uk