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Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar (born 28 June 1947) is a British
anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...
and evolutionary psychologist and a specialist in
primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
behaviour. He is currently head of the Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group in the Department of
Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...
at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. He is best known for formulating
Dunbar's number Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships—relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person. This ...
, a measurement of the "cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships".


Education

Dunbar, the son of an engineer, was educated at
Magdalen College School, Brackley Magdalen College School, Brackley, in Northamptonshire, is one of three ancient "Magdalen College Schools", the others being Magdalen College School in Oxford, and Wainfleet All Saints in Lincolnshire, all associated with Magdalen College, Oxf ...
. He went on to study at
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...
, where his teachers included Niko Tinbergen; he completed his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in
Psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...
and Philosophy in 1969. Dunbar then went on to the Department of Psychology of the
University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
and completed his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
in 1974 on the
social organisation In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and social groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, s ...
of the gelada, ''Theropithecus gelada'', a monkey that is a close relative to baboons. He spent two years as a freelance science writer. Dunbar told BBC Radio interviewer
Jim Al-Khalili Jameel Sadik "Jim" Al-Khalili ( ar, جميل صادق الخليلي; born 20 September 1962) is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in scie ...
in ''
The Life Scientific ''The Life Scientific'' is a BBC Radio 4 science programme, presented by Professor Jim Al-Khalili , in which each episode is dedicated to the biography and work of one living scientist. The programme consists of an interview between Al-Khalili ...
'' in 2019 that he "got his first real job" only at the age of 40.


Academic career

Dunbar's academic and research career includes the
University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...
,
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
from 1977 until 1982, and
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
from 1987 until 1994. In 1994, Dunbar became Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at
University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, but he left Liverpool in 2007 to take up the post of Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology,
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. Dunbar was formerly co-director of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...
Centenary Research Project (BACRP) "From Lucy to Language: The Archaeology of the Social Brain" and was involved in the BACRP "Identifying the Universal Religious Repertoire". Digital versions of selected published articles authored or co-authored by him are available from the University of Liverpool Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioural Ecology Research Group. In 2015, Dunbar was awarded the Huxley Memorial Medal—established in 1900 in memory of
Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...
—for services to anthropology by the Council of the
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
, the highest honour at the disposal of the RAI. Dunbar is also a
Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...
Distinguished Supporter of Humanism.


Awards and honours

* 2015, Huxley Memorial Medal,
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
* 1998, Elected Fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...
(FBA) * 1994, ''ad hominem'' Chair, Psychology, University of Liverpool


In popular culture

Dunbar's work is mentioned in
The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
, Season 4, Episode 20 ("The Herb Garden Germination"), when
Amy Farrah Fowler Amy Farrah Fowler is a fictional character in the CBS television series '' The Big Bang Theory'', portrayed by Mayim Bialik. Amy is a neuroscientist who is Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) love interest and subsequent partner in the series. She has a ...
is talking with
Sheldon Cooper Sheldon Lee Cooper, Ph.D., Sc.D., is a fictional character in the CBS television series '' The Big Bang Theory'' and its spinoff series '' Young Sheldon'', portrayed by actors Jim Parsons and Iain Armitage respectively (with Parsons as the la ...
while listening to a lecture by
Brian Greene Brian Randolph Greene (born February 9, 1963) is a American theoretical physicist, mathematician, and string theorist. Greene was a physics professor at Cornell University from 19901995, and has been a professor at Columbia University sinc ...
(2011). Dunbar is a featured character in the adaptation of
Yuval Noah Harari Yuval Noah Harari ( he, יובל נח הררי ; born 1976) is an Israeli historian and professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of the popular science bestsellers '' Sapiens: A Brief History ...
's book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind into
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
(2020). Dunbar's work is described in the epilogue of
Blake Crouch William Blake Crouch (born October 15, 1978) is an American author best known for his '' Wayward Pines Trilogy'', which was adapted into the 2015 television series ''Wayward Pines''. Early life and education Crouch was born near the town of St ...
's novel Upgrade (2022).


References


Published books

* Dunbar. 1984. ''Reproductive Decisions: An Economic Analysis of Gelada Baboon Social Strategies''. Princeton University Press * Dunbar. 1987. ''Demography and Reproduction''. In ''Primate Societies''. Smuts, B.B., Cheney, D.L., Seyfarth, R.M., Wrangham, R.W., Struhsaker, T.T. (eds). Chicago & London:University of Chicago Press. pp. 240–249 * Dunbar. 1988. ''Primate Social Systems''. Chapman Hall and Yale University Press * Foley, Robert & Dunbar, Robin (14 October 1989). "Beyond the bones of contention". ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...
'' Vol.124 (No.1686) pp. 21–25. * Dunbar. 1996
''The Trouble with Science''
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...
. * Dunbar (ed.). 1995. ''Human Reproductive Decisions''. Macmillan * Dunbar. 1997. ''
Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language ''Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language'' is a 1996 book by the anthropologist Robin Dunbar, in which the author argues that language evolved from social grooming. He further suggests that a stage of this evolution was the telling of gos ...
''.
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...
. * Runciman, Maynard Smith, & Dunbar (eds.). 1997. ''Evolution of Culture and Language in Primates and Humans''. Oxford University Press. * Dunbar, Knight, & Power (eds.). 1999. ''The Evolution of Culture''. Edinburgh University Press * Dunbar & Barrett. 2000. ''Cousins''. BBC Worldwide: London * Cowlishaw & Dunbar. 2000. ''Primate Conservation Biology''. University of Chicago Press * Barrett, Dunbar & Lycett. 2002. ''Human Evolutionary Psychology''. London: Palgrave * Dunbar, Barrett & Lycett. 2005. ''Evolutionary Psychology, a Beginner's Guide''. Oxford: One World Books * Dunbar. 2004. ''The Human Story''. London: Faber and Faber * Dunbar. 2010. ''How Many Friends Does One Person Need?: Dunbar's Number and Other Evolutionary Quirks''. London: Faber & Faber (paper) * Dunbar. 2014. ''Human Evolution''. Pelican Books * Dunbar. 2016. ''Human Evolution: Our Brains and Behavior'' (Illustrated) * Dunbar. 2021. ''Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships''.
Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...
* Dunbar. 2022. ''How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures''. Pelican Books


External links


The Human Behaviour and Evolution Society

What Makes us Human
Pulse Project Podcast: What Makes us Human? (22 October 2008, Oxford)
University of Oxford Department of Experimental Psychology profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar, Robin British evolutionary biologists Evolutionary psychologists Primatologists Human evolution theorists 1947 births Living people Linguists from the United Kingdom British anthropologists Anthropology writers Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of University College London Fellows of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford