Eiluned Pearce: "The ice-breaker effect: How do humans create and maintain social bonds?"

Dr Eiluned Pearce is an evolutionary anthropologist interested in how humans create and maintain social relationships and community cohesion. She completed a doctorateaopen t ICEA, using comparative neuroanatomical, archaeological and ethnographic evidence to investigate the social organisation of Neanderthals and modern humans. Her subsequent work has included exploring group singing as a mechanism of social bonding, and examining whether individual differences in how people relate to others are linked to their genetic profiles. Her current focus is exploring the causes of loneliness in order to develop effective interventions. In addition to academic research, Eiluned has worked with a number of charities to support them to evaluation their services and projects.

Postdoctoral researcher in the Social and Evolutionary Research Group (SENRG) in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford.