Kristin Hagel

Kristin Hagel is a researcher at the Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Her work focuses on the adaptive significance of religious belief and ritual behavior, environmental constraints on cultural practices, and ecological models of territoriality. She has conducted research on cooperation in social dilemmas using economic games and explored conservation practices linked to non-human primates and rainforest ecology.

Her research integrates cross-cultural data analysis, experimental methods, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Key themes include the interplay between religion and well-being, socio-ecological dynamics, and institutional responses to deliberate ignorance in environmental contexts. She has published in high-impact journals like Nature Human Behaviour and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

Her recent work emphasizes global comparative studies, methodological rigor in cross-cultural research, and the ethical dimensions of fieldwork. Hagel’s contributions span evolutionary anthropology, behavioral economics, and environmental policy, reflecting her commitment to understanding human behavior through ecological and cultural lenses.