News

CBEN 2023 in Utrecht

Published 19/05/2023

PLACE: Academiegebouw Universiteit Utrecht (Utrecht, Netherlands)
DATE: 2-3 November 2023

For this year’s CBEN meeting, we invite everyone to Utrecht. We would like this to be a meeting where scholars from a broad range of disciplines share their work at the interface of cognition, behavior, and evolution. CBEN has been brought to life with the aim to strengthen the local community of Dutch and Belgian researchers working in these areas. However, we warmly invite scholars from other countries to join us as well. CBEN offers an excellent opportunity for early-career researchers, including PhDs and
Postdocs, to present their work and network with one another in a relaxed atmosphere.

This year’s theme will be the interplay between evolution, behavior, and development. Across generations natural selection shapes learning mechanisms, which enable organisms to acquire adaptive behaviors across development. Evolution and development thus act as nested processes rather than opposing forces. Niko Tinbergen argued that a complete understanding of behaviors and traits requires four different levels of explanation: development, mechanism, evolution, and function. By studying their interplay, we can enrich our understanding. For example, how has evolution shaped human social bonding and individual differences in social learning? How does the environment shape life-history scheduling? And, how can insight from comparative and cross-cultural research help us create a more sustainable future? These and other questions will be addressed by this year’s plenary speakers.

We welcome any submissions at the interface of cognition, behavior, and evolution. We encourage submissions that use empirical approaches or mathematical modeling to better understand the interplay between evolution, behavior, and development. We hope to see many scholars from various disciplines working in these areas this November.

Plenary speakers

Hanna Kokko (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz): Life history theory: sometimes intuitive, sometimes not
Karline Janmaat (University of Amsterdam): Understanding the roots and fruits of our primate brain: a way to a more sustainable future?
Piet van den Berg (KU Leuven): The evo-devo of individual differences in social learning
Wouter Wolf (Utrecht University): A shared intentionality account of human social bonding

You can find the abstracts for the plenary talks here.

Venue

Academiegebouw, Korte Nieuwstraat 4, 3512 NM, Utrecht (directions)

Accommodation

The venue is a 15-minute walk from Utrecht Central Train Station, with various different options for accommodation in the surrounding area.

We have arranged discount for conference participants in the following hotels in Utrecht, all within 15 minutes walking distance from the conference venue:

The Court: 10% discount for bookings between November 2nd-3rd, 2023 with the code “CBEN 2023”
The Eye – 10% discount for bookings between November 2nd-3rd, 2023 with the code “CBEN 2023”
The Hunfeld – 10% discount for bookings between November 2nd-3rd, 2023 with the code “CBEN 2023”
Inntel Hotel – 15% discount when booking through telephone (+31 30 202 4001) or e-mail (SalesUtrecht@inntelhotels.nl) with the code “UU”
- City Twin or Double – 22 m2 – Overlooking the city or railways; €145,00 per room per night excluding breakfast
- City XL – 28 m2 – Spacious with city or railway view; €145,00 per room per night excluding breakfast
- Spa Room – 29 m2 – highest floors, luxurious with whirlpool; €160,00 per room per night excluding breakfast
- Wellness Room – 35 m2 – Extra luxurious with whirlpool and private Sauna; €175,00 per room per night excluding breakfast

Abstract submission

Abstract submission is now closed.

Registration

Early bird (until September 15)

Faculty with dinner: €80
Faculty without dinner: €50
Student with dinner: €50
Student without dinner: €20

Regular (until October 15)

Faculty with dinner: €95
Faculty without dinner: €65
Student with dinner: €65
Student without dinner: €35

In case that you are not able to pay the conference registration fees, please do not hesitate to reach out to us so we can find a solution.

Contact

For more information, please contact the organizers at cben.2023.utrecht@gmail.com.

Organizers

Nicole Walasek and Willem Frankenhuis.

Abstract selection and program: Stefan Vermeent