The fourth Individualisation Symposium, organized by the Joint Institute for Individualisation in a Changing Environment (JICE), the collaborative research project InChangE, and the Transregional Collaborative Research Center 212, will this time focus on life transitions. At its core is the question of how individuals — both humans and animals — experience and navigate biological, psychological, and social turning points. The event will bring together leading scientists from the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences on March 25 at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) at Bielefeld University, offering new perspectives on individualisation.
“Individuals are in a constant state of change — not only humans but also animals. With this symposium, we aim to highlight new scientific perspectives on how transitional phases shape our lives and the mechanisms involved,” says Bielefeld Professor Dr Barbara Caspers, Director of JICE.
One of the highlights of the symposium is Dr Barbara Natterson-Horowitz’s (Harvard University/UCLA) lecture. The cardiologist and evolutionary biologist explores how findings from the animal world can help us better understand human health issues — from emotional fluctuations to chronic diseases. Her talk, “The Moody Animal: The Ancient Origins of ‘Ups and Downs’,” reveals that mood swings are not uniquely human but are deeply rooted in evolution.
Interview: “We are at an exciting crossroads as the fields of animal behavior and human psychiatry intersect.”
On the occasion of her lecture at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF), Dr Barbara Natterson-Horowitz highlights in an interview the deep biological similarities between humans and animals, particularly in relation to emotions, developmental phases, and mental health. She advocates for a scientific perspective that emphasizes similarities rather than uniqueness.
Your research highlights striking similarities between human and animal health challenges. How can insights from the animal world help us better understand emotional fluctuations in humans, as you discuss in your talk “The Moody Animal”?
An abundance of evidence has finally pushed us beyond endless debates about whether animals do or do not have emotions. Recognizing the significant alignment in the affective (emotional) systems in humans and other animals has created a new opportunity to understand the animal origins of human moods—from despair to joy. We are at an exciting crossroads as the fields of animal behavior and human psychiatry intersect. As the contribution of mood to behavior and decision-making in other species is increasingly revealed, so too are the factors leading to human highs and lows and revelatory insights into the origins of depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and other common forms of human psychopathology.
Transitions and turning points are a key theme of this symposium. In your work, have you observed critical life phases where humans and animals experience particularly comparable physiological or psychological changes?
A strengthened understanding of the animal origins of human mood provides much needed insight into the high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in human adolescents and young adults. For decades we have been aware that there are neurobiological differences between adolescents and adults. Looking at adolescence across species provides evolutionary explanations for why this phase of life is so vulnerable to mental challenges.
Your books Zoobiquity and Wildhood emphasize a cross-species approach to health and development. What key takeaway from your research do you think scientists across disciplines should integrate into their work?
One of my “mantras” is that human exceptionalism remains a scientific blindfold. Unexamined assumptions about the uniqueness of various traits (including moods) have obscured connections that, when revealed, provide insights that can accelerate insight and innovations. For decades animal behaviorists and other scientists have been sternly instructed to “avoid anthropomorphizing.” However, there is a highly exceptionalistic assumption underlying this warning: human neurobiology is so very distinct from that of other species that any resemblance observed between the behavior of humans and other animals is more likely borne of anthropomorphic projection than biological similarity.
However, over the past decades there has been a large and growing body of evidence of alignment between the behavior and neurobiology of human and non-human. The conserved neurobiology of human and nonhuman animals suggests that we should stop presenting anthropomorphism as a great scientific risk. Instead of assuming uniqueness, we should proceed from the position of assuming similarity. This change could allow scientists across disciplines to recognize connections that anthropocentric assumptions previously obscured.
© Alisha Jucevic
Professor Dr Michael H. Goldstein (Cornell University) will explore the development of communication in his keynote lecture, “From Birds to Words.” Through comparative studies on songbirds and human infants, he demonstrates how social interactions influence language acquisition and what parallels exist between bird songs and human speech.
In addition to these keynote talks, the symposium will feature a range of fascinating lectures and discussions. Professor Dr Ingela Alger (Toulouse School of Economics) examines how evolutionary mechanisms shape resource distribution within families. Camilla Cenni, Ph.D. (University of Mannheim), investigates individual differences in tool use among primates and their significance for cultural evolution. Dr Maria Moiron (Bielefeld University) explores how environmental changes shape the behavior of wild animal populations.
Dr Bastian Mönkediek (Bielefeld University) brings a sociological perspective, illustrating how genetic and social factors influence individual lives. His research within the German Twin Family Panel TwinLife provides new insights into social inequalities and their development over the course of life. Mönkediek emphasizes: “Interdisciplinary dialogue is crucial to better understanding individualisation. By bringing together research on humans and animals at the symposium, we open up new possibilities for a holistic view of biological, psychological, and social development.”
Participation in the symposium is free of charge. However, registration is requested. Registration is possible here.
