Magnus S Magnusson, PhD, is an Emeritus Research Professor in the Human Behavior Laboratory, University of Iceland. Between 1983 and 1988, he was Deputy Director at the Anthropology Laboratory in the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, and between 1989 and 1993, invited Professor at the University of Paris Sorbonne V, XIII, & VIII
Research Objectives Professor Magnusson analysed interaction patterns of behaviour from the nanoscale to human scales, discovering what makes humans unique
From T-patterns to T-strings to T-societies
By the mid-1940s, two world wars in less than 40 years saw many millions killed by what were considered some of the world’s most advanced societies. Researchers wanted to make sense of such a world. Some looked to biology and primatology in their pursuit to better understand human behaviour. In 1967, Desmond Morris published The Naked Ape, detailing his primatological perspective of the social behaviour of humans, and in 1965, Niko Tinbergen’s book Animal Behavior became an influence for many researchers in the field. The 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was shared by Tinbergen, Konrad Lorenz, and Karl von Frisch for their ethological discoveries regarding social behaviour patterns in animals.