Dr. Eric Schniter
Visiting Professor; Research Faculty
Economic Science Institute, General; Psychology, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences; Business and Economics, The George L. Argyros College of Business and Economics
- Education:
- University of Oregon, Bachelor of Arts
University of Oregon, Master of Science
University of California, Santa Barbara, Ph.D.
Biography
Eric Schniter earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California at
Santa Barbara, where he trained as a human behavioral ecologist and evolutionary psychologist.
His current research and instruction is in both evolutionary anthropology and behavioral
economics. He has been examining the development of skill, knowledge and material
production across the lifespan to better understand whether contributions of older
adults may help explain the supported postmenopausal lifespan of humans. This work
on aging and life history has led him to investigate relationship maintenance (communication,
trust and cooperation), which is central to fostering material and knowledge transfers
over the life course. Finally, he has been interested in how emotions calibrate personal
and interpersonal behaviors, contributing to relationship maintenance and well-being.
By exploring how skill development affects emotions and one's role in society, Schniter
hopes to gain a better understanding of the determinants behind well-being across
the lifespan.
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Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications
- Borgerhoff Mulder, M., Towner, M. C., Baldini, R., Beheim, B. A., Bowles, S., Colleran, H., Gurven, M., Kramer, K., Mattison, S, Nolin, D., Scelza, B., Schniter, E., Sear, R., Shenk, M., Voland, E., and Ziker, J. 2019. Differences between sons and daughters in the intergenerational transmission of wealth. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 374(1780), 20180076.
- Koster, J., Lukas, D., Nolin, D., Power, E., Alvergne, A., Mace, R., Ross, C, Kramer, K., Greaves, R., Caudell, M., MacFarlan, S., Schniter, E., Quinlan, R., Mattison, S., Reynolds, A., Yi-Sum, C., and Massengill, E. 2019. Kinship ties across the lifespan in human communities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 374(1780), 20180069.
- Kaplan, H., Schniter, E., Smith, V., Wilson, B. 2018. Experimental tests of the tolerated theft and risk-reduction theories of resource exchange. Nature Human Behaviour. 2: 383–388
- Schniter, E., Wilcox, N., Beheim, B., Gurven, M., Kaplan, H. 2018. Information transmission and the oral tradition: evidence of a late-life service niche for Tsimane Amerindians. Evolution and Human Behavior. 39: 94-105.
- Gómez-Miñambres, J., Schniter, E. 2017. Emotions and behavior regulation in decision dilemmas. Games, 8(2), 22.
- Gómez-Miñambres, J., Schniter, E. 2017. Emotional calibration and self-control. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 68: 110-118.
- Rietz, T., Schniter, E., Sheremeta, R.M., Shields, T.W. 2017. Trust, reciprocity, & rules. Economic Inquiry. 56(3): 1526-1542 .
- Morris, J.J., Schniter, E. 2017. Black Queen markets: commensalism, dependency, and the evolution of cooperative specialization in human society. Journal of Bioeconomics. 20 (1): 69-105.
- Schniter, E., Sheremeta, R.M., Shields, T.W. 2015. Conflicted emotions following trust-based interaction. Journal of Economic Psychology, 51: 48-65.
- Corgnet, B., Hernán-González, R., Schniter, E. 2015. Why real leisure really matters: incentive effects on real effort in the laboratory. Experimental Economics, 18(2): 284-301.
- Sznycer, D., Schniter, E., Tooby, J., Cosmides, L. 2015. Regulatory adaptations for delivering information: the case of confession. Evolution and Human Behavior. 36(1): 44-51.
- Schniter, E., Gurven, M., Kaplan, H., Wilcox, N., Hooper, P. 2015. Skill ontogeny among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 158(1): 3-18.
- Schniter, E. 2014. Older adults' contributions to the Tsimane forager-farmer economy. Anthropology and Aging 35(1): 56-58.
- Schniter, E., Sheremeta, R. 2014. Predictable and predictive emotions: explaining cheap signals and trust re-extension. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 8:401.
- Stieglitz, J., Schniter, E., Kaplan, H., von Rueden, C., Gurven, M. 2014. Functional disability and social conflict increase risk of depression in older adulthood among Bolivian forager-farmers. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. 70(6), 948-956.
- Schniter, E., Shields, T.W. 2014. Ageism, honesty, and trust. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 51: 19-29.
- Gurven, M., Borgerhoff Mulder, M., Hooper, Paul L., Kaplan, H., Quinlan, R., Sear, R., Schniter, E., von Rueden, C., Bowles, S., Hertz, T., and Bell, A. 2010. Domestication Alone Does Not Lead to Inequality. Current Anthropology. 51(1):1-16.
- Gurven, M., Schniter, E., 2010. An evolutionary perspective can help unify disparate accounts of grandparental investment. (commentary on D. Coall & R. Hertwig, “Grandparental Investment: Past, Present, and Future”) Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 33:25-26.
- Borgerhoff Mulder, M., Bowles, S., Hertz, T., Bell, A., Beise, J., Clark, G., Fazzio, I., Gurven, M., Hill, K., Hooper, P.L., Irons, W., Kaplan, H., Leonetti, D., Low, B., Marlowe, F., McElreath, R., Naidu, S., Nolin, D., Piraino, P., Quinlan, R., Schniter, E., Sear, R., Shenk, M., Smith, E.A., von Rueden, C., Wiessner, P. 2009. Intergenerational Wealth Transmission and the Dynamics of Inequality in Small-Scale Societies”. Science. 326:682-688
- Gurven, M., Zanolini, A., Schniter, E. 2008. Culture sometimes matter: intra-cultural variation in pro-social behavior among Tsimane Amerindians. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 67:587-607