Call for abstracts
The upcoming conference of the European Human Behaviour & Evolution Association will take place in Leiden, The Netherlands, 14th-17th of April 2026.
EHBEA is committed to organising genuinely interdisciplinary conferences that bring together all researchers applying evolutionary theory to the behavioural sciences, including behavioural ecology, psychology (e.g., comparative, social, developmental), ethology (e.g., sociobiology, primatology), anthropology, cultural evolution, archaeology, sociology, linguistics, narratology, medicine, and more.
On top of the regular conference, the 2026 edition features the [AI]volution theme track. With a dedicated keynote speaker, talks session, panel discussion, and poster area, we aim to explore the meaning of developments in artificial intelligence for research in EHBEA domains. The facets that will be explored include, but are not limited to:
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machine behaviour and cognition;
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hybrid/augmented human behaviour, intelligence, and cultural evolution;
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AI-driven modelling and research support;
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ethics and societal impact of AI.
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We only have in-person presentations. Following the usual EHBEA tradition, we will have a limited number of parallel sessions, which limits the number of talks we can timetable. As a result, some presentations may need to be accepted as posters, even if a talk is the preferred format.
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Submitting your work to EHBEA
We welcome a wide range of submissions, including empirical, methodological and theoretical papers, opinion pieces, and reviews. Abstracts should be written in English and not exceed 300 words. If applicable, please structure your abstract as follows: Title, Objective, Methods, (Expected) Results and (Preliminary) Conclusions. Please indicate your preferred presentation format: talk, short talk or poster.
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Each participant can submit only one abstract as the lead author, for either an oral or poster presentation. We expect participants to adhere to high standards of scientific rigour and ethics. Our Code of Conduct can be found on the EHBEA website.
Abstract submission will open 1st of November and close on 15th of December 2025. For updates on these dates and more information, please keep an eye on our website.
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Once accepted, abstracts can be extended to a maximum of 800 words excluding references to appear as part of our published book of abstracts.
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Submitting via OpenReview
OpenReview is an open-source platform that handles abstract submissions, reviewing, and communication at a scale. We are using this platform to handle your submissions for this year’s EHBEA 2026.
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Submitting an abstract should be rather self-explanatory, but it requires you to create an OpenReview account. For this, we ask you to use (if possible) your institutional email domains. If you do not have an institutional email address, please make sure to create your account in time (two weeks before the submission deadline).
OpenReview let’s authors update/edit their submissions until the deadline has passed, it requires no further communication with the organisers. Should you run into trouble, please first consult the documentation, before contacting the organisers.
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Additional Information
Please also remember EHBEA’s commitments to ensuring the conference provides a welcoming environment for all (see EHBEA’s code of conduct), and to reducing the misuse of evolutionary research to reinforce racist, sexist and other forms of discrimination, when considering how to present and illustrate your data. When preparing your presentation/poster, please remember the importance of using non-judgemental language and images.
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Abstracts will be reviewed by at least 2 members of the local organising committee and 2 members of the EHBEA committee. Based on the recommendations, the organising committee will accept or reject the abstract as a talk or as a poster. Accepted abstracts will be arranged into sessions by the committee. Information about the status of the abstract will be emailed in February.
