Jeffrey Schank

Jeffrey Schank is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. He directs the Agent-Based Models Lab, focusing on understanding social and evolutionary behaviors through computational modeling. His academic appointments include teaching roles in biological psychology and quantitative methods, such as courses on Developmental Psychobiology, Animal Behavior, and Agent-Based Modeling. He earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Chicago in 1991.

Research Interests: Schank investigates how complex group behaviors emerge from individual rules, using agent-based models to study social dynamics, evolutionary processes, and developmental biology. Key areas include human mate choice, evolutionary game theory, and the behavior of animal groups like rats and primates.

Publications Overview: His work spans theoretical population biology, social simulation, and computational modeling methodologies. Notable contributions include models of cooperative breeding in harsh environments, the evolution of fairness in game theory, and the dynamics of social identity. Recent research emphasizes interdisciplinary applications of agent-based models in ecology and conservation (e.g., waterfowl management).

Lab Activities: The Schank Lab collaborates with institutions like the California National Primate Center to model primate social structures. Current projects involve agent-based models of macaque colonies and titi monkeys, incorporating behavioral syndromes and health data. The lab also develops biorobotic models of rat behavior using genetic algorithms.