adam.kenny@anthro.ox.ac.uk
I recently earned my DPhil in Anthropology at the University of
Oxford. I am an evolutionary anthropologist, with a background in both
biology and anthropology; I hold a BA in Natural Sciences from the
University of Cambridge (2012) and an MSc in Human Evolution and
Behaviour from University College London (2013).
Broadly, I am interested in the role of inter-group dynamics on human
prosociality. Specifically, my research focuses on the effects of
group identity and inter-group competition on cooperation. My doctoral
thesis involved extensive fieldwork in the city of Siena, Italy, among
local ‘neighbourhoods’ known as the contrade. I mostly analyse
quantitative data generated through field experiments employing
behavioural economic games. I also have an interest in open research
practices.
selected publications
For a full list of publications, see
-
The palio of Siena and the contemporary
contrada system
Kenny, A.,
and Fortunato, L.
SocArXiv
2021
preprint
abstract
bib
The palio of Siena, Italy, is a bareback horse race
held in the city’s central square twice a year over
the summer months. Over the centuries, this
phenomenon has attracted the attention of scholars
and visitors alike — perhaps more so than the 17
contrade, the city’s territorial communities that
participate in the event. Our aim is twofold. First,
we provide a primer on the contemporary contrada
system. Second, we describe systematically the
relationships between contrada pairs, which can be
classified into one of three types: alliance,
neutral relationship, and rivalry. To this end, we
draw on published materials and on recent
field-based research, including a cross-contrada
survey of over 500 contrada members, a psychological
item measuring the attitude of members towards the
contrade, and the analysis of GPS data from an
annual ritual. We find that membership size varies
from a few hundred to several thousand individuals,
a majority of whom are members from birth with
familial and social ties within the contrada. We
also find patterned variation with respect to
relationship type in the attitude of contrada
members, as well as in ritualized behaviour. We
highlight the importance of the contrada phenomenon
and the impact of group relationship on perceptions
and behaviour.
@article{Kenny-Fortunato_giro,
title = {The \emph{palio} of {S}iena and the contemporary
\emph{contrada} system},
author = {Kenny, Adam R and Fortunato, Laura},
year = {2021},
journal = {SocArXiv},
preprint = {10.31235/osf.io/hxyvc},
url = {https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/hxyvc},
abbr = {ethnography},
note = {version 1}
}
-
The importance of open research practices to empirical
research in the evolutionary social sciences
Kenny, A.
Evolution and Human Behaviour
2021
journal
preprint
abstract
bib
Open research practices should be a staple of
evolutionary studies of the human experience. I
focus on three open research practices — data
archiving, code sharing, and open materials. I
reiterate their benefits for comparative
cross-cultural research in the evolutionary social
sciences. I also highlight some of the challenges
researchers might face in their implementation, and
provide pointers to possible solutions. Finally, I
list elements of open research that merit greater
discussion in this area of research.
@article{Kenny_2021,
author = {Kenny, Adam Robert},
title = {The importance of open research practices to empirical
research in the evolutionary social sciences},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-04-16},
volume = {42},
issue = {3},
pages = {268--270},
journal = {Evolution and Human Behaviour},
doi = {10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.02.008},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.02.008},
preprint = {10.31235/osf.io/2y3st},
abbr = {open research}
}
-
In-group bias in human cooperation: insights from
the contrade of Siena, Italy
Kenny, A.
Doctoral thesis, University of Oxford
2020
abstract
bib
Cooperation in humans shows an in-group bias, with
individuals more likely to benefit members of their
own in-group than members of other out-groups. This
thesis explores the effects of inter-group
competition, group relationship, and shared identity
on in-group bias, by conducting field experiments
among communities in a historic Italian city, namely
the contrade of Siena. In Chapter 1, I review
the literature on the evolution of cooperation and
in-group bias. I then describe how field experiments
that employ economic games can help elucidate
in-group bias in the real world, before outlining
how I conducted field experiments with the
contrade. I describe the contrade in
greater detail in Chapter 2, using research from my
fieldwork among these communities to demonstrate the
importance of group relationship in the Sienese
context. In experiment 1 (Chapter 3), I compare
in-group and out-group cooperation during a period
characterised by low competition vs. high
competition. There is no evidence for an effect of
competition. However, there is a significant effect
of group relationship, with more cooperation among
neutral out-groups compared to rival out-groups. In
experiment 2 (Chapter 4), I analyse third-party
punishment decisions and participants’
interpretations of the experiment, to assess whether
cooperation within and between contrade is
supported by social norms. There is limited support
for third-party punishment sustaining norms
governing either in-group or out-group behaviour. In
experiment 3 (Chapter 5), I explore the effect of
shared identity on in-group bias, by seeing if a
“common enemy” encourages out-group
cooperation. The common enemy neither increases the
perceptions of shared identity nor decreases
in-group bias. I conclude with a meta-analysis in
Chapter 6, which reveals an overall strong in-group
bias among the contrade. The bias is
influenced by the relationship between the groups,
but is unaffected by the level of competition and
attempts to induce a shared identity. This thesis
shows that group identities in the real world have a
significant impact on social behaviour.
@phdthesis{Kenny_thesis,
author = {Kenny, Adam Robert},
title = {In-group bias in human cooperation: insights from
the \emph{contrade} of {S}iena, {I}taly},
school = {University of Oxford},
year = {2020},
abbr = {cooperation}
}
