Jean-Baptiste André

Publications

 Preprints

Lie-Panis J., J.B. André and H. Miton. 2026. Professionals of trust: Intermediaries concentrate exchanges, creating incentives for reliability. PsyArXiv.

Darcy G., L. Fitouchi, V. Thouzeau, J.B. André and C. Chevallier. 2026. Trust miscalibration across cultures and social classes. OSF Preprints.

André J.B, S. Debove, L. Fitouchi and N. Baumard. An evolutionary contractualist theory of morality. PsyArXiv.

Baumard N., J.B. André, D. Nettle, L. Fitouchi, T. Scott-Philipps. The gene’s-eye view of culture: vehicles, not replicators. EcoEvoRxiv

Articles in peer-reviewed journals

Lie-Panis J., L. Fitouchi, N. Baumard and J.B. André. 2026. Why Human Societies Adopt Rigid Moral Rules: The Efficiency–Robustness Trade-Off. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 123(28):e2535467123.

Baumard N. and J.B. André. 2026. Evolved psychology, eco-phenotypic feedbacks and the social construction of culture. Response to commentaries on The ecological approach to culture. Evolution and Human Behavior 47(3):106844.

Fitouchi L., M. Singh, J.B. André, and N. Baumard. 2025. Prosocial religions as folk-technologies of mutual policing. Psychological Review 132(6):1410-1437.

André J.B. 2025. Evolutionary parsimony: an equilibrium refinement that sharply constrains the space of outcomes in games with multiple equilibria. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 292(2055):20250941.

Baumard N. and J.B. André. 2025. The ecological approach to culture. Target article in Evolution and Human Behavior 46(3):106686.

Boon-Falleur M, J.B. André, N. Baumard, and D. Nettle. 2025. Household Wealth is Associated With Perceived Trustworthiness in a Diverse Set of Countries. Social Psychological and Personality Science 16(7):732-742.

Boon-Falleur M, N. Baumard* and J.B. André*. 2025. The effect of income and wealth on behavioral strategies, personality traits and preferences. Perspectives on Psychological Science 20(4):669-690. (*co-last authors)

Lie-Panis J., L. Fitouchi, N. Baumard and J.B. André. 2024. The social leverage effect: Institutions transform weak reputation effects into strong incentives for cooperation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121(51):e2408802121.

André* J.B, N. Baumard* and P. Boyer*. 2023. Cultural evolution from the producers' standpoint. Evolutionary Human Sciences 5:e25. (*equal contributions)

Fitouchi, L., J.B. André*, and N. Baumard*. 2023. Moral disciplining: The cognitive and evolutionary foundations of puritanical morality. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 46:e293 (Target article). (*co-last authors)

Ecotière C., S. Billiard, J.B. André, P. Collet, R. Ferrière and S. Méléard. 2023. Human-environment feedback and the consistency of proenvironmental behavior. PLoS Computational Biology 19(9):e1011429.

Fitouchi L., J.B. André and N. Baumard. 2023. From supernatural punishment to big gods to puritanical religions: clarifying explanatory targets in the rise of moralizing religions. Religion, Brain & Behavior 13(2):195-199.

Lie-Panis J. and J.B. André. 2022. Cooperation as a signal of time preferences. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 289(1973):20212266.

Ecoffet P., N. Fontbonne, J.B. André and N. Bredeche. 2022. Policy search with rare significant events: Choosing the right partner to cooperate with. PLoS ONE 17(4):e0266841.

Geoffroy F. and J.B. André. 2021. The emergence of cooperation by evolutionary generalization. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288:20210338.

Ecoffet P., N. Bredeche and J.B. André. 2021. Nothing better to do? Environment quality and the evolution of cooperation by partner choice. Journal of Theoretical Biology (527:110805).

Boon-Falleur M, N. Baumard and J.B. André. 2021. Risk-seeking or impatient? Disentangling variance and time in hazardous behaviors. Evolution and Human Behavior (42:453-460).

Mell H., N. Baumard and J.B. André. 2021. Time is money. Waiting costs explain why selection favors steeper time discounting in deprived environments. Evolution and Human Behavior (42:379-387).

Fitouchi L., J.B. André and N. Baumard. 2021. The intertwined cultural evolution of ascetic spiritualities and puritanical religions as technologies of self-discipline. Religion, Brain & Behavior 11(2):197-206.

André J.B. and N. Baumard. 2020. Cultural evolution by capital accumulation. Evolutionary Human Science. 2(e18) :1-21

André J.B. and F. Rousset. 2020. Does extrinsic mortality accelerate the pace of life? A bare-bones approach. Evolution and Human Behavior 41(6):486-492.

Bernard A., N. Bredeche* and J.B. André*. 2020. Indirect genetic effects allow escape from the inefficient equilibrium in a coordination game. Evolution Letters 4(3): 257–265 (*co-last authors)

Lettinga, N., Jacquet, P. O., André, J. B., Baumard, N., & Chevallier, C. 2020. Environmental harshness is associated with lower investment in collective actions. PloS ONE 15(7): e0236715.

Geoffroy, F., Baumard, N., and J.B. André. 2019. Why cooperation is not running away. bioRxiv, ver. 5 peer-reviewed and recommended by PCI Evol Biol. and eventually published in Journal of Evolutionary Biology 32(10):1069-1081

Claidière, N., G. Amedon, J.B. André, S. Kirby, K. Smith, D. Sperber, and J. Fagot. 2018. Convergent transformation and selection in cultural evolution. Evolution and Human Behavior 39(2):191-202.

Aimé, C., J.B. André*, and M. Raymond*. 2017. Grandmothering and cognitive resources are required for the emergence of menopause and extensive post-reproductive lifespan. PloS Computational Biology 13(7): e1005631. (*co-last authors)

Debove, S., N. Baumard and J.B. André. 2017. On the evolutionary origins of equity. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0173636

André J.-B and S. Nolfi. 2016. Evolutionary robotics simulations help explain why reciprocity is rare in nature. Scientific Reports 6:32785

Bernard A., André* J.-B., and N. Bredeche*. 2016. To Cooperate or not to Cooperate: why Behavioural Mechanisms Matter. PloS Computational Biology 12(5): e1004886. (*co-last authors)

Debove, S., N. Baumard and J.B. André. 2016. Models of the evolution of fairness in the ultimatum game: a review and classification. Evolution and Human Behavior 37(3):245–254.

Debove, S., J.B. André and N. Baumard. 2015. Partner choice creates fairness in humans, Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282: 20150392.

Debove, S., N. Baumard and J.B. André. 2015. Evolution of equal division among unequal partners. Evolution. 69:561-569.

André, J.B. 2015. Contingency in the evolutionary emergence of reciprocal cooperation. The American Naturalist. 185:303-316.

André, J.B. 2014. Mechanistic constraints and the unlikely evolution of reciprocal cooperation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 27:784-795.

C. El Mouden, André, J.B., O. Morin, and D. Nettle. 2014. Cultural transmission and the evolution of human behaviour: A general approach based on the Price equation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 27:231-41.

Baumard, N., J.B. André and D. Sperber. 2013. A mutualistic approach to morality. The evolution of fairness by partner choice. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 36:59–122.

Claidière*, N. and J.B. André*. 2012. The transmission of genes and culture: a questionable analogy. Evolutionary Biology 39:12 (*equal contribution)

Abbot, P. & 136 other authors, including J. B. André. 2011. Inclusive fitness theory and eusociality. Nature 471, e1-e10.

André, J.B. and O. Morin. 2011. Questioning the cultural evolution of altruism. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 24:2531-2542.

André, J.B. and N. Baumard. 2011. Social opportunities and the evolution of fairness. Journal of Theoretical Biology. 289:128–135.

André, J.B. and N. Baumard. 2011. The evolution of fairness in a biological market. Evolution. 65:1447-56.

André, J.B. 2010. The evolution of reciprocity: social types or social incentives? The American Naturalist 175:197-210.

André, J.B. and T. Day. 2007. Perfect reciprocity is the only evolutionarily stable strategy in the continuous prisoner’s dilemma. Journal of Theoretical Biology 247:11-22.

André, J.B., and B. Godelle. 2006. The Evolution of mutation rate in finite asexual populations. Genetics 172:611-626.

André, J.B., and S. Gandon. 2006. Vaccination, within-host dynamics and virulence evolution. Evolution 60:13-23.

André, J.B., and B. Godelle. 2006. Within-host evolution and virulence in microparasites. Journal of Theoretical Biology 241:402-409.

André, J.B., C. Peeters, M. Huet and C. Doums. 2006. Estimating the rate of gamergate turnover in the queenless ant Diacamma cyaneiventre using a maximum likelihood model. Insectes Sociaux 53:233-240.

Taylor, P.D., T. Day, D. Nagy, G. Wild, J.B. André and A. Gardner. 2006. The evolutionary consequences of plasticity in host-parasite interactions. Theoretical Population Biology 69:323-331.

Day, T., J.B. André and A. Park. 2006. The Evolutionary Emergence of Pandemic Influenza. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 273:2945-2953.

André, J.B., and B. Godelle. 2005. Multicellular organization in bacteria as a target for drug therapy. Ecology Letters 8:800-810.

André, J.B., and M. Hochberg. 2005. Virulence evolution in emerging infectious diseases. Evolution 59:1406-1412.

André, J.B., and T. Day. 2005. The Effect of Disease Life History on the Evolutionary Emergence of Novel Pathogens. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 272:1949-1956.

André, J.B., J. B. Ferdy, and B. Godelle. 2003. Within-host parasite dynamics, emerging trade-off, and evolution of virulence with immune system. Evolution 57:1489-1497.

André, J.B., C. Peeters, and C. Doums. 2001. Serial polygyny and colony genetic structure in the monogynous queenless ant Diacamma cyaneiventre. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 50:72-80. 

Commentaries

Baumard N. and J.B. André. 2026. Changing models in cultural evolution: from (quasi-)Darwinian to ecological mechanisms. Commentary on K. Sterelny, Quasi-Darwinian mechanisms: ecological inheritance and cumulative culture. Hunter Gatherer Research 1-9.

Baumard N., J.B. André and E. Dubourg. 2026. From attractors to ecological strategies: Embedding subjective selection in an evolutionary-ecological framework. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 49:e288 (Commentary).

André J.B., L. Fitouchi and N. Baumard. 2026. Moral cognition is contractualist, but does not work by simulating a bargaining process. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 49:e134 (Commentary).

Lie-Panis J. and J.B. André. 2024. Peace is a form of cooperation, and so are the cultural technologies which make peace possible. Commentary on Glowacki, The evolution of peace. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 47:e16.

André J.B, L. Fitouchi and N. Baumard. 2023. Reciprocal contracts—not competitive acquisition—explain the moral psychology of ownership. Commentary on Boyer, Ownership psychology as a cognitive adaptation: a minimalist model. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 46:e324.

Dubourg, E., André J.B., and Baumard N. 2021. The evolution of music: one trait, many ultimate-level explanations. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 44:e98 (Commentary).

Baumard, N. Chevallier, C, and J.B. André. 2018. Fairness, more than any other cognitive mechanism, is what explains the content of folk-economic beliefs. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 41 (Commentary).

Mell, H., N. Baumard and J.B. André. 2017. Both collection risk and waiting costs give rise to the behavioral constellation of deprivation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40 (Commentary).

Book Chapters and others

Shiravand A. and J.B. André. 2024. Human-Like Moral Decisions by Reinforcement Learning Agents. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society 46.

Fitouchi L., J.B. André and N. Baumard. 2022. Are there really so many moral emotions? Carving morality at its functional joints. in L. Al-Shawaf and T. K. Shackelford, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Evolution and the Emotions. Oxford University Press, New York.

André J.B., M. Cozic, S. De Monte, J. Gayon, P. Huneman, J. Martens and B. Walliser. 2022. Keywords in Economics and Evolutionary Biology: Twenty Five Concepts. pp. 19-161 in From Evolutionary Biology to Economics and Back. Springer, History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences.

André J.B., M. Cozic, S. De Monte, J. Gayon, P. Huneman, J. Martens and B. Walliser, eds. 2022. From Evolutionary Biology to Economics and Back: Parallels and Crossings between Economics and Evolution. Springer, History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences.

Ecoffet P., André J.-B. and Bredeche N. 2020. Learning to Cooperate in a Socially Optimal Way in Swarm Robotics. Proceedings of ALife 2020: The 2020 Conference on Artificial Life.

Bernard A., André J.-B. and Bredeche N. 2016. Evolving Specialisation in a Population of Heterogeneous Robots: the Challenge of Bootstrapping and Maintaining Genotypic Polymorphism. Proceedings of ALife XV: The Fifteenth International Conference on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems.

Bernard A., André J.-B. and Bredeche N. 2015. Evolution of Cooperation in Evolutionary Robotics: The Tradeoff Between Evolvability and Efficiency. Proceedings of the European Conference on Artificial Life.

André, J.B. 2013. Conflits génétiques : exemples dans l'espèce humaine in F. Thomas et Raymond M., eds. Santé, médecine et sciences de l'évolution.

André, J.B. and M. van Baalen. 2007. Selection for Pathogenicity Within Patients in F. Baquero, C. Nombela, G. H. Cassell and J. A. Gutiérrez, eds. Introduction to Evolutionary Biology of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens.

Brown, S., J.B. André, J.B. Ferdy and B. Godelle. 2005. Parasitism and ecosystem modelling in F. Thomas, J.F. Guéguan and F. Renaud, eds. Parasitism and Ecosystems. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

André, J.B., S. A. Frank, S. Gupta, and M. Tibayrenc 2003. Immunology and evolution of infectious diseases, what’s new? An e-debate. Infection Genetics and Evolution 4(1):69-75.

General audience

Lie-Panis J., L. Fitouchi et J.B. André. 2025. Les institutions : des outils pour résoudre les défis de la coopération. Regards et débats sur la biodiversité R126, Société Française d'Ecologie et d'Evolution.

Texte collectif, J.B. André et al. 2024. La couverture médiatique d'un essai sur l'évolution révèle des défaillances dans la diffusion de l'information scientifique. Regards et débats sur la biodiversité RO24, Société Française d'Ecologie et d'Evolution.

France Culture et franceinfo - Les idées claires : Peut-on nier la théorie de l'évolution ?

André, J.B. and N. Baumard. 2010. Darwin et Avatar: La ressemblance entre espèces indépendantes est une conséquence de la théorie de l’évolution. Pas une épine dans son pied. Tribune sur LeMonde.fr. 27/01/2010

André, J.B. 2010. La priorité est la défense des matières scientifiques pour le public littéraire. Tribune sur LeMonde.fr. 09/12/2009