EXPERIMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY LAB

The Experimental Anthropology Lab at the Anthropology Department of the University of Connecticut is directed by Dr. Dimitris Xygalatas. It is dedicated to developing a paradigm for studying human culture scientifically in real-life settings. It promotes methodological innovation and integration in the study of culture through a combination of in-depth qualitative field research with experimental methods and advanced technological tools.

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Our main areas of focus include cultural expressions that may at first glance appear bizarre or superfluous but help people across cultures find comfort, meaning, and connection: we study rituals, sports, music, dancing, and other things that make us truly human. As experimental anthropologists, we are interested in both universal and local aspects of those experiences.

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Our lab space at UConn’s main campus in Storrs is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for conducting controlled experiments as well as developing and refining tools and methods to be used in the field. Our students conduct research in various parts of the world, including Mauritius, Turkey, Nepal, Indonesia, Brazil, and the USA. 

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The relationship between our laboratory and field work is dynamic and continuous: rather than taking subjects out of context and moving them into sterilized laboratory settings, we often seek to take the laboratory into context by moving it into the field. In turn, our findings from the field often produce more specific questions that inform more targeted studies in the lab. This involves a consilient and thoroughly interdisciplinary approach that cuts across the sciences and the humanities. Indeed, rather than being confined to any single methodological tradition, our work is motivated by our fascination with culture and driven by big questions.