Research Interests
Szabolcs Számadó is a theoretical biologist, his main research interest is honest signalling, which he investigated with a range of tools including game theory, lab experiments and individual based modelling. His research includes a broad range of topics from the evolution of cooperation to the evolution of early human language. His latest interest is the role of reputation systems in the maintenance of cooperation and role of communication in the role maintenance of reputation. He published in top journals of the field (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Biological Reviews, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B). He is the leading editor of a recent special issue on reputation systems ‘The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling’ published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0286
Selected Publications
1. Számadó, S., Zachar, I., Czégel, D., & Penn, D. J. (2023). Honesty in signalling games is maintained by trade-offs rather than costs. BMC biology, 21(1), 1-16.
2. Wu*, J., Számadó*, S., Barclay, P., Beersma, B., Dores Cruz, T. D., Iacono, S. L., ... & Van Lange, P. A. (2021). Honesty and dishonesty in gossip strategies: a fitness interdependence analysis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 376(1838), 20200300.
3. Barclay, P., Bliege Bird, R., Roberts, G., & Számadó, S. (2021). Cooperating to show that you care: costly helping as an honest signal of fitness interdependence. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 376(1838), 20200292.
4. Penn, DJ & Számadó, Sz (2020) The Handicap Principle: how an erroneous hypothesis became a scientific principle. Biological Reviews 95 (1), 267-290.
5. Számadó, Sz. (2011) The cost of honesty and the fallacy of the handicap principle. Anim.Behav. 81, 3-10.
6. Boza, G. Számadó, Sz. (2010) Beneficial laggards: multilevel selection, cooperative polymorphism and division of labour in Threshold Public Good Games. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10, 336.
7. Számadó, Sz. & Szathmáry, E. (2006) Selective scenarios for the emergence of natural language. Trends Ecol. Evol. 21(10), 555-561.
8. Bergstrom, C.T., Számadó, Sz. and Lachmann, M. (2002) Separating equilibria in continuous signalling games. Philisophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B. 357, 1595-1606.
9. Lachmann, M., Számadó, Sz. and Bergstrom, C.T. (2001) Cost and Conflict in Animal Signals and Human Language. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA 28, 13189-13194.
10. Számadó, Sz. (1999) The Validity of the Handicap Principle in Discrete Action-Response games. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 198, 593-602.
Research Projects
2019-2021 OTKA K 132250; 24463 thousands FT, principal investigator
2016-2019 OTKA K 112929; 23000 thousands FT, principal investigator
2014-2016 OTKA K 112929; 23000 thousands FT, investigator
2014-2017 OTKA K 108974; 5900 thousands FT, principal investigator
2005-2009 OTKA K 49692; 8700 thousands FT, investigator
2001-2003 OTKA K 35223; 4200 thousands FT, investigator
