Dr. L.S. (Lucas) Molleman
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Programme group Developmental Psychology
Area of expertise: Social learning, cultural evolution
Visiting address
- Nieuwe Achtergracht 129
- Room number: 1.05
Postal address
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Postbus 15916
1001 NK Amsterdam
Contact details
Social media
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Profile
My research explores how people learn from each other. I study what social cues do people attend to, and how they respond to them. For example, when do people copy successful others, or follow the majority? Using computational models I predict which “social learning strategies” work best in different situations, and how these strategies influence the spread of ideas, norms and behaviours in social networks. I also conduct behavioural experiments online and in science museums to test how children and adults actually learn from others. In addition to research, I teach courses in statistics, evolution and behaviour, development, and cognitive psychology.
Research expertise
- Social learning
- Cultural evolution
Other links
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Research
Research methods
- Computational models
- Agent-based models
- Behavioural experiments
- Citizen science
Current research projects
Social learning of interdependent traits: developing computational model of how to best learn from others when knowledge and skills build on each other, that is, when learning advanced stuff requires learning the basics first.
Development of social information use: conducting large-scale experiments in science museums in The Netherlands, Germany, and Japan to map how people integrate the judgments of others across age and across cultural backgrounds.
Behavioural logic of rule following: experimentally examining when and why people follow or break rules, testing the economic and psychological motives underlying social order.
Research grants & honours
- Swedish Research Council Grant 2025 (500k; PI)
- LISS panel grant 2024 (30k; PI)
- ABC Postdoc Grant 2018 (250k; own postdoc), 2021 (250k; co-PI) and 2023 (125k; PI)
- Economic Science Association: Editor’s Award for best paper in Experimental Economics 2018
Current cooperation
- Pieter van den Berg – KU Leuven
- Björn Lindström – Karolinska Institute Stockholm
- Simon Gächter – University of Nottingham
- Daniele Nosenzo – University of Aarhus
- Tina Venema – Utrecht University
- Florian van Leeuwen – Tilburg University
- Rob Nelissen – Tilburg University
- Research & Development – NEMO Science Museum Amsterdam
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Teaching
BA
- Introduction to cognitive psychology – 1st year course in Artificial Intelligence
- Evolution and behaviour – 1st year course in Psychobiology
- Development – 2nd year course in Psychobiology
- Evolutionary Antropology – 3rd year course in Psychobiology
- Evidence-based clinical practice – 3rd year statistics course in Clinical Developmental Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology
- BSc thesis Psychobiology and Clinical Developmental Psychology
MA
- Current topics in Developmental Psychology for Research Master in Psychology
- (Research) MSc thesis in Biology, Brain and Cognition, Developmental Psychology
PhD supervision
- Nanda Jafarian on social learning of interdependent traits (with Annemie Ploeger and Ingmar Visser)
Co-supervision
- Andrea Gradassi and Ana da Silva – Pinho on development of social learning (with Wouter van den Bos)
- Gilles Lijnzaad and Rana Seada (with Wouter van den Bos, Cameron Brick, and Hilde Huizenga)
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Publications
2024
- Schaaf, J. V., Weidinger, L., Molleman, L. S., & van den Bos, W. (2024). Test-retest reliability of reinforcement learning parameters. Behavior Research Methods, 56, 4582-4599. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-023-02203-4
- Tump, A. N., Wollny-Huttarsch, D., Molleman, L., & Kurvers, R. H. J. M. (2024). Earlier social information has a stronger influence on judgments. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 105. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50345-4
van den Berg, P., Vu, T. V., & Molleman, L. (2024). Unpredictable benefits of social information can lead to the evolution of individual differences in social learning. Nature Communications, 15, Article 5138. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49530-4 [details]
2023
- Gradassi, A., Slagter, S. K., da Silva Pinho, A., Molleman, L., & van den Bos, W. (2023). Network Distance and Centrality Shape Social Learning in the Classroom. School Psychology, 38(2), 67-78. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000490 [details]
2022
- Gaule, A., Bevilacqua, L., Molleman, L., Roberts, R., van Duijvenvoorde, A. C., Van den Bos, W., McCrory, E. J., & Viding, E. (2022). Social information use in adolescents with conduct problems and varying levels of callous-unemotional traits. JCPP Advances, 2(1), Article e12067. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12067 [details]
- Molleman, L., Ciranka, S., & van den Bos, W. (2022). Social influence in adolescence as a double-edged sword. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 289(1977), Article 20220045. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0045 [details]
- Molleman, P. W., Molleman, L., Schilder, C., Bulten, B. H., & Brazil, I. A. (2022). Can measures of cognitive flexibility and inhibition distinguish forensic psychiatric inpatients from prisoners? Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 33(3), 371-388. https://doi.org/10.1080/14789949.2022.2070523 [details]
2021
- Boon, E., van den Berg, P., Molleman, L., & Weissing, F. J. (2021). Foundations of cultural evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 376(1828), Article 20200041. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0041 [details]
- Li, X., Molleman, L., & Van Dolder, D. (2021). Do descriptive social norms drive peer punishment? Conditional punishment strategies and their impact on cooperation. Evolution and Human Behavior, 42(5), 469-479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.04.002 [details]
- Singh, M., Acerbi, A., Caldwell, C. A., Danchin, É., Isabel, G., Molleman, L., Scott-Phillips, T., Tamariz, M., van den Berg, P., Van Leeuwen, E. J. C., & Derex, M. (2021). Beyond social learning. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 376(1828), Article 20200050. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0050 [details]
- da Silva Pinho, A., Molleman, L., Braams, B. R., & van den Bos, W. (2021). Majority and popularity effects on norm formation in adolescence. Scientific Reports, 11, Article 12884. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92482-8 [details]
2020
- Giamattei, M., Seyed Yahosseini, K., Gächter, S., & Molleman, L. (2020). LIONESS Lab: a free web-based platform for conducting interactive experiments online. Journal of the Economic Science Association, 6(1), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40881-020-00087-0 [details]
- Molleman, L., Tump, A. N., Gradassi, A., Herzog, S., Jayles, B., Kurvers, R. H. J. M., & van den Bos, W. (2020). Strategies for integrating disparate social information. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287(1939), Article 20202413. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2413 [details]
- Westhoff, B., Molleman, L., Viding, E., van den Bos, W., & van Duijvenvoorde, A. C. K. (2020). Developmental asymmetries in learning to adjust to cooperative and uncooperative environments. Scientific Reports, 10, Article 21761. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78546-1 [details]
2019
- Brown, P., RELISH Consortium, & Zhou, Y. (2019). Large expert-curated database for benchmarking document similarity detection in biomedical literature search. Database, 2019, Article baz085. https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baz085 [details]
- Molleman, L., Kanngiesser, P., & van den Bos, W. (2019). Social information use in adolescents: The impact of adults, peers and household composition. PLoS ONE, 14(11), Article e0225498. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225498 [details]
- Molleman, L., Kurvers, R. H. J. M., & van den Bos, W. (2019). Unleashing the BEAST: a brief measure of human social information use. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40(5), 492-499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.06.005 [details]
- Molleman, L., Kölle, F., Starmer, C., & Gächter, S. (2019). People prefer coordinated punishment in cooperative interactions. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(11), 1145-1153. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0707-2 [details]
2016
- Swakman, V., Molleman, L., Ule, A., & Egas, M. (2016). Reputation-based cooperation: empirical evidence for behavioral strategies. Evolution and Human Behavior, 37(3), 230-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.12.001 [details]
2013
- Molleman, L., van den Broek, E., & Egas, M. (2013). Personal experience and reputation interact in human decisions to help reciprocally. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 280(1757), Article 20123044. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.3044 [details]
2011
- Molleman, L., Boeve, S., Wolf, J., Oostermeijer, G., Devy, S., & Ganesan, R. (2011). Commercial harvesting and regeneration of epiphytic macrolichen communities in the Western Ghats, India. Environmental Conservation, 38(3), 334-341. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892911000142 [details]
2015
- Egas, C. J. M., Swakman, V., Molleman, L., & Ule, A. (2015). Diversity of moral strategies in human reputation-based cooperation. 353. Poster session presented at 15th congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology. http://wp.unil.ch/eseb2015/files/2014/03/Abstract_list.pdf
2014
- Swakman, V., Molleman, L., & Egas, C. J. M. (2014). Diversity of morals in human cooperation. Poster session presented at EHBEA annual conference 2014, Bristol.
- Swakman, V., Molleman, L., & Egas, C. J. M. (2014). Diversity of morals in human cooperation. Poster session presented at The 2nd Toulouse Economics and Biology workshop.
2009
- Molleman, L. S., Boeve, S., Wolf, J. H. D., Oostermeijer, J. G. B., Devy, S., & Ganesan, R. (2009). Harvest and regeneration of epiphytic macrolichens in the Western Ghats, India.. 132-133. Abstract from 5th International Canopy Conference, .
Talk / presentation
- Molleman, L. (invited speaker), van den Broek, E. (invited speaker), Swakman, V. (invited speaker), Ule, A. (invited speaker) & Egas, C. J. M. (invited speaker) (29-11-2013). Human Cooperation by Reciprocity, 21st meeting of the Netherlands Society for Behavioural Biology, Soesterberg.
- Molleman, L. (speaker), van den Broek, E. (speaker) & Egas, C. J. M. (speaker) (27-3-2013). Personal experience and reputation interact in human decisions to help reciprocally, European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association 2013 Conference, Amsterdam.
Others
- da Silva Pinho, A. (organiser), Gradassi, A. (organiser), Molleman, L. (participant) & van den Bos, W. (participant) (13-7-2022 - 15-7-2022). 5th Early Career Social Learning Research Network Workshop, Amsterdam. 5th ESLR Workshop - Social learning across the lifespan and generations. Small scientific meeting across several disciplines (biology, psychology, (…) (organising a conference, workshop, ...).
2021
- Da Silva Pinho, A. F., Molleman, L., Braams, B. R. & van den Bos, W. (24-11-2021). Norm formation in adolescence. Universiteit van Amsterdam. https://doi.org/10.21942/uva.17074889.v1
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Ancillary activities
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Tilburg University
Assistant Professor of Social Psychology
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Tilburg University
van den Berg, P., Vu, T. V., & Molleman, L. (2024). Unpredictable benefits of social information can lead to the evolution of individual differences in social learning. Nature Communications, 15, Article 5138.