Evolutionary Psychology Lab

Evolúciós Pszichológia Kutatócsoport

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The aim of the Evolutionary Psychology Lab is to explore the evolutionary foundations of human behaviour, cognition and emotional functioning, with particular attention to the psychological mechanisms underlying human adaptation, social functioning and decision-making. By integrating the evolutionary theoretical framework with the empirical methods of modern psychology, the research group studies behavioural patterns at the biological, psychological and social levels.

The Lab's long-term goal is to apply the evolutionary psychological approach across different areas of psychology, including personality, social, clinical, health and sexual psychology, and thereby contribute to building a more unified, theoretically grounded and empirically tested body of psychological knowledge, as well as producing internationally visible research.

A Brief Introduction to the Research Center

The Evolutionary Psychology Lab was founded at the University of Pécs in 1999 on the initiative of Tamás Bereczkei. The research group is currently led by Prof. Norbert Meskó. The Lab brings together lecturers, researchers, doctoral students and graduate students affiliated with the Institute of Psychology and the Institute of Behavioural Sciences of the University of Pécs.

The research group operates within a flexible, project-based organisational structure. Alongside a shared theoretical framework, several partly interconnected research programmes run in parallel. This enables interdisciplinary collaboration and methodological innovation, and allows young researchers to be gradually involved in international research.

The director of the research center

Prof. Meskó Norbert egyetemi tanár

Prof. Norbert Meskó is an evolutionary psychologist and lecturer at the Institute of Psychology, University of Pécs. His research focuses on the evolutionary and psychological background of human mate choice, sexual behaviour, personality traits, emotion regulation and sexual economic exchange. He has led or co-authored numerous large-sample, multi-country international studies, and his work is published in leading international journals.

 

Main Areas of Research

The research group's work is organised around several interrelated thematic areas:

• Love, mate choice and relationship dynamics: evolutionary and cultural patterns of romantic relationships, mate preferences, attachment and commitment.
• Sexual behaviour and motivation: sexual motives, orgasm, sexual strategies, sexual economic exchange, and the psychology of "sugar relationships".
• Personality and individual differences: with particular focus on dark personality traits (the Dark Triad), social decision-making and adaptive strategies.
• Emotion regulation and mental functioning: emotion regulation strategies, emotional intelligence, and their neuroscientific background.
• Health psychology and clinical implications: health behaviour, the role of fear and disgust, the effectiveness of psychological interventions, and behavioural patterns in clinical and healthcare contexts.

The group's research is often based on large-sample, multi-country data collection, and also uses questionnaire adaptation and validation, as well as experimental, neuroscientific and meta-analytic methods.

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https://btk.pte.hu/hu/evolab

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• Meskó Norbert
• Bereczkei Tamás
• Birkás Béla
• Czibor Andrea
• Csathó Árpád
• Gyuris Petra
• Kocsor Ferenc
• Putz Ádám

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PhD hallgatók

• Csányi Edit
• Fehér Adrián
• Jessica S. Ehlers
• Zoë Brinkert
• Őry Fanni

MA hallgatók

• Károlyi Lili
• Kunhegyi Zsófia
• Máj Renáta
• Molnár Anna

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Bereczkei, T. (2025). Elhangolódás. A modern civilizáció evolúciós csapdái. Typotext Kiadó. ISBN: 978-963-4933-54-0 (380 p.)

Csányi, E., Veszprémi, M. D., Zsidó, A. N., & Meskó, N. (2025). Motivational Pathways Diverge Between Frequent and Problematic Pornography Use. International Journal of Sexual Health, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2025.2605517

Putz, Á., Nagy, Á. A., Lázár, E., Kocsor, F., & Bereczkei, T. (2025). Do birds of a feather buy together? The influence of buyers’ facial similarity to message source on online purchase decisions. Current Psychology, 44, 13951–13963. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-08128-9

Őry, F., & Meskó, N. (2025). A Test Megbecsülése Skála átdolgozott változatának (BAS-2) vizsgálata magyar nyelven, Z generációs nők körében. Magyar Pszichológiai Szemle, 80(1), 108–132. https://doi.org/10.1556/0016.2024.00076

Csányi, E., Basler, J., Bereczkei, T., & Meskó, N. (2024). Psychometric evaluation of the abbreviated Hungarian Faking Orgasm Scale for Women. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1513959. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1513959

Meskó, N., Kowal, M., Láng, A., Kocsor, F., Bandi, S. A., Putz, A., Sorokowski, P., Frederick, D. A., García, F. E., Aguilar, L. A., Studzinska, A., Tan, C.-S., Gjoneska, B., Milfont, T. L., Topcu Bulut, M., Grigoryev, D., Aavik, T., Boussena, M., Mattiassi, A. D., … Han, H. (2024). Exploring attitudes toward “sugar relationships” across 87 countries: A global perspective on exchanges of resources for sex and companionship. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 53, 811–837. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02724-1

Matuz, A., Gács, B., & Birkás, B. (2024). Reframing prolonged negative mental health effects of COVID-19: Cognitive restructuring promotes posttraumatic growth. Psychology & Health, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2024.2427654

Vida, D., Láng, A., Áfra, E., Kemény, V., Czibor, A., Csapó, G., & Bandi, S. (2024). In the mind of Narcissus: The mediating role of emotional regulation in the emergence of distorted cognitions. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 65(4), 729–734. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.13021

Birkás, B., Kiss, B. L., Coelho, C. M., & Zsidó, A. N. (2023). The role of self-reported fear and disgust in the activation of behavioral harm avoidance related to medical settings. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, Article 1074370. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1074370

Ferencz, T., Láng, A., Kocsor, F., Kozma, L., Babós, A., & Gyuris, P. (2023). Sibling relationship quality and parental rearing style influence the development of Dark Triad traits. Current Psychology, 42, 24764–24781. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03506-z

Őry, F., Láng, A., & Meskó, N. (2023). Acceptance of cosmetic surgery in adolescents: The effects of caregiver eating messages and objectified body consciousness. Current Psychology, 42(18), 15838–15846. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02863-z

Szathmári, E., Czibor, A., Bents, R., Szabó, Z. P., & Kiss, O. E. (2023). Jungian personality type preferences of female and male Hungarian leaders. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1222568. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1222568

Bereczkei, T. (2022). Psychology meets evolutionary theory. In J. Gervain, G. Csibra, & K. Kovács (Eds.), A life in cognition (Language, Cognition, and Mind, Vol. 11, pp. 185–193). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66175-5_13

Kocsor, F., Ferencz, T., Kisander, Z., Tizedes, G., Schaadt, B., Kertész, R., Kozma, L., Vincze, O., & Láng, A. (2022). The mental representation of occupational stereotypes is driven as much by their affective as by their semantic content. BMC Psychology, 10, Article 222. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00928-z

Meskó, N., Szatmári, D., Láng, A., Meston, C. M., & Buss, D. M. (2022). Why Hungarians have sex (YSEX?-HSF). Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51, 465–489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02072-y

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A kutatócsoport kiterjedt hazai és nemzetközi együttműködési hálózattal rendelkezik. Főbb partnerintézmények:

• Magatartástudományi Intézet, ÁOK, PTE
• IDN Human Being Lab, University of Wrocław (Lengyelország)
• University of Alabama (USA)
• University of Texas at Austin (USA)
• Oakland University (USA)
• University of Nicosia (Ciprus)
• Russian Academy of Sciences (Oroszország)
• Anglia Ruskin University (Egyesült Királyság)
• University of Ottawa (Kanada)
• Marmara University (Törökország)

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The Evolutionary Psychology Research Group is closely linked to the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs in psychology at the University of Pécs (PTE). The research group actively involves students in empirical research, the development of thesis and dissertation topics, and international publication projects.

The group places a high priority on training and nurturing young researchers, providing students with opportunities to develop scientific thinking, methodological skills, and experience in international publishing.