Nichola Jayne Raihani is a British psychologist who is a Professor of Evolution and Behaviour at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. Her research considers the evolution of cooperation in nature. She was elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

in 2019. Her first book, ''The Social Instinct'', was released in 2021.

Early life and education

Raihani is the daughter of Alyson Dye and Athil Raihani.She earned a Bachelor of Arts (Natural Sciences) at

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

in the

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 ...

in 2003. She stayed at Cambridge for her graduate studies, where she studied

cooperation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal a ...

in pied babblers in the

Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...

. Her doctoral research was supervised by

Tim Clutton-Brock Timothy Hugh Clutton-Brock (born 13 August 1946) is a British zoologist known for his comparative studies of the behavioural ecology of mammals, particularly red deer and meerkats.Institute of Zoology The Institute of Zoology (IoZ) is the research division of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in England. It is a government-funded research institute specialising in scientific issues relevant to the conservation of animal species and their hab ...

(

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

). In 2011, she moved to

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where she studied the evolution of punishment and cooperation.

Research and career

In October 2011, Raihani was awarded a

Royal Society University Research Fellowship __NOTOC__ The Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF) is a research fellowship awarded to outstanding early career scientists in the United Kingdom who are judged by the Royal Society to have the potential to become leaders in their fie ...

, and moved to University College London. She was made Professor of Evolution and Behaviour in 2017. Raihani uses an evolutionary approach to investigate social behaviour in humans and other species. She worked alongside Katherine McAuliffe at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

to better understand people's motivations to punish cheaters. Together they identified that people are generally motivated to punish cheaters due to a sense of injustice, not because they are seeking equivalent retaliation. She has collaborated with Redouan Bshary at Lizard Island Research Station to understand the mechanisms supporting cooperation between cleaner fish (''

Labroides dimidiatus The bluestreak cleaner wrasse, ''Labroides dimidiatus'', is one of several species of cleaner wrasses found on coral reefs from Eastern Africa and the Red Sea to French Polynesia. Like other cleaner wrasses, it eats parasites and dead tissue off ...

'') and their reef-fish clients. Her work also investigates the evolution of punishment, and how punishment and concern for reputation support cooperation in humans. Raihani has also worked with

Vaughan Bell Vaughan Bell is a British clinical psychologist, currently at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust specialising in psychological interventions for psychotic outpatients and in training other professionals to deal with such patients ...

, to study the evolutionary basis of paranoid thinking. She examined the motivations that make people donate to charity, uncovering that men were more likely to donate if they could see that other men had already donated or if the person asking them for donations was an attractive woman. Meanwhile, women's likelihood to donate was not impacted by the appearances of the fundraisers. In another study, Raihani demonstrated that people's willingness to help strangers was related to socioeconomic status, and not urbancity or population density as previously thought. Raihani was awarded a

Philip Leverhulme Prize The Philip Leverhulme Prize is awarded by the Leverhulme Trust to recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. The prize schem ...

for Psychology in 2018. With the support from the Royal Society and the Leverhulme Trust, Raihani has studied interpersonal trust and paranoia. Her first book, ''The Social Instinct'': ''How Cooperation Shaped the World'', was published by

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...

in 2021. She was awarded the

Voltaire Lecture 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 be ...

medal in 2021, and appointed a patron of

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 be ...

, recognising her 'contribution to the better understanding of the human condition'.

Selected publications

* * *

Personal life

Raihani has two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raihani, Nichola Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology Academics of University College London British psychologists British women psychologists Alumni of the University of Cambridge Evolutionary psychologists 1980 births