Chinmay Aradhye
Chinmay’s broader level research interests are: Evolutionary Behavioral Economics, Theory of Mind, Evolutionary Game Theory, Mate Selection and Comparative Psychological aspects of Behavior.
Jared Edge
Jared's primary research interests include the social and individual differences among the LGBT community, with a focus on the evolutionary sources of these differences. He is also interested in animal cognition and social behavior.
Amity Jordan
Amity’s primary interest is studying mental health in non-human primates and children. Her long-term research goal is to study how the natural environment affects cognition and change in mental health, not limited to mental disorders, atypical, nonadaptive and stereotypic behaviours . She is also interested in how to eliminate or decrease the frequency and intensity of such observable behaviors in affected individuals. Other areas of interest include emotions, empathy, and the evolution of language and animal communication.
Victoria (Tori) O'Connor
Victoria is interested in comparative cognition in large carnivores, specifically the ability to problem solve and innovate in Panthera and implications for captive welfare and conservation. She is interested in behavioral flexibility, with a focus on differences between carnivore species, wild vs. captive populations and the relationship between inhibition and innovation.
Jacob Pappas
Jacob is interested in comparative and evolutionary psychology, particularly in examining the functions of animal cognition and what that might suggest for analogous traits in humans, in regard to their evolutionary function. A particular subject of interest is how human domestication has shaped the cognitive state of dogs versus non-domesticated canids.
Anne Sullivan
Anne is an experienced animal trainer who is interested in how animals learn through mimicry and other learning processes. She is also interested in retention and welfare.
Jordyn Truax
Jordyn's research interests include social behavior and cognition in nonhuman animals. Specifically, she is interested in cooperation, prosocial behavior, altruism, and the motivations behind these behaviors.
Joy Vincent
Joy’s research broadly focuses around comparative cognition in exotic species, such as elephants and warthogs. Through the study of social behaviors and dynamics—particularly, the interplay of competition and cooperation—she hopes to better inform practices that promote the conservation and welfare of both captive and wild animals.
Former Graduate Students
Tamra Cater (ne Beckman) (PhD 2011)
Brock Brothers (MS 2015)
Brock is interested in the evolutionary and social-cognitive
aspects of reasoning and decision making; specifically, how personality and individual differences affect heuristics and belief and behavioral biases. His other interests include apophenia, game theory, emotion regulation, religiosity, and theory of mind.
Brock is now conducting research with U.S. Veterans in Maryland D.C.
www.brockrbrothers.com
aspects of reasoning and decision making; specifically, how personality and individual differences affect heuristics and belief and behavioral biases. His other interests include apophenia, game theory, emotion regulation, religiosity, and theory of mind.
Brock is now conducting research with U.S. Veterans in Maryland D.C.
www.brockrbrothers.com
Taryn Eaton (MS 2018)
Taryn is interested in animal cognition and metacognition. More specifically, She is interested in how the cognitive psychology of nonhuman animals can be applied to animal conservation and animal welfare.
Taryn now works as a conservation educator for the SeaCoast Science Center in New Hampshire. interested in animal cognition and metacognition. More specifically, I am interested in how the cognitive psychology of nonhuman animals can be applied to animal conservation and animal welfare.
Taryn now works as a conservation educator for the SeaCoast Science Center in New Hampshire. interested in animal cognition and metacognition. More specifically, I am interested in how the cognitive psychology of nonhuman animals can be applied to animal conservation and animal welfare.
Moriah Galvan (MS 2014)
Moriah’s area of study is comparative psychology. She is interested in research with applicability to welfare and enrichment in zoos, as well as training and behavior in companion animals. She is fascinated by all animal life, but has a special interest in carnivores.
Moriah is now the Director of Research and Development for the SPCA.
Jennifer Hamilton (MS 2014)
Jennifer's main area of interest is research that improves the welfare and enrichment of animals in captivity especially for canines, hoofstock, and great apes. Other interests include kin recognition and animal cognition and preference. Her thesis focused on kin recognition in domestic dogs.
Jennifer is now working with the Center for Zoo Animal Welfare at the Detroit Zoological Society.
Jennifer is now working with the Center for Zoo Animal Welfare at the Detroit Zoological Society.
Eric Hoffmaster (MS 2016)
Eric is interested in comparative cognition; more specifically in animal social cognition and topics like theory mind and cooperation. His MS thesis focused on the study of prosocial behavior in bats. He is also interested in animal welfare and how animal cognition could be applied to increase the well being of captive animals.
Eric was recently the enrichment director for the wildlife group at Best Friends in Utah. He is now working in Washington DC.
Eric was recently the enrichment director for the wildlife group at Best Friends in Utah. He is now working in Washington DC.
Robert Hutton (MS 2019)
Robbie's primary research interests include empathy and social cognition in both humans and nonhuman animals. He seeks ultimately to carry out research incorporating both comparative and social/personality principles from an evolutionary perspective. He is also interested in narcissism, religiosity, prosociality, and many, many other topics.
Robbie is now teaching at Bradley University and working at the Peoria Zoo.
Robbie is now teaching at Bradley University and working at the Peoria Zoo.
Stephanie Jett (PhD 2014)
Stephanie is interested in: human and animal cognition,
evolution of language/communication, concept formation, memory, and social and physical cognition.
She is currently working with birds of prey (hawks, eagles, and owls) and carrion birds, (vultures and crows) on spatial memory, tool use, numerosity, and social
cognition tasks. She also conducts research with domestic dogs, rodents, and primates. Her dissertation focused on how language complexity, sex and levels of abstraction affects natural and emotion concept formation. Stephanie is now an assistant professor at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, GA.
evolution of language/communication, concept formation, memory, and social and physical cognition.
She is currently working with birds of prey (hawks, eagles, and owls) and carrion birds, (vultures and crows) on spatial memory, tool use, numerosity, and social
cognition tasks. She also conducts research with domestic dogs, rodents, and primates. Her dissertation focused on how language complexity, sex and levels of abstraction affects natural and emotion concept formation. Stephanie is now an assistant professor at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, GA.
Zoe Johnson-Ulrich (PhD 2017)
Zoe is interested in comparative cognition, specifically physical cognition (e.g. cognition about physical support, connectedness, object permanence, or physical causality), and also empathy and predator/prey or interspecific communication. Her dissertation focused on behavioral flexibility, innovation and inhibition in carnivores. She is most interested in animals that humans routinely interact with, such as bears, dogs, and horses.
Jessica Leete (MS 2019)
Jessica is interested in a number of areas within social cognition in nonhuman species, such as prosocial behaviors, social learning, and social contagion. She is also interested in problem-solving, tool-use, causal reasoning, memory, and spatial cognition.
Jessica is now working in admissions at the University of Michigan.
Jessica is now working in admissions at the University of Michigan.
Jennifer Lieb (MS 2019)
Jennifer is interested in animal cognition as well as animal welfare and how these constructs can be applied to conservation and better improving environments for captive animals. Specifically, she is interested in feline cognition and how we can better understand caring for companion animals in general.
Molly McGuire (PhD 2017)
Molly's primary interest is in cognitive and comparative psychology. Her specific area of interest lies in cognitive bias and the cognitive psychology of nonhuman animals and how that knowledge could be applied to the welfare of captive animals. She is currently teaching at Oakland University and working with the Humane Society in Windsor, ON, Canada.
Molly is now the curator of animal well-being at Zoo Miami.
Molly is now the curator of animal well-being at Zoo Miami.
Silvia Oriani
Audrey Robeson MS 2018
Audrey is interested in animal cognition and comparative psychology. Her main focus is on animals’ strategies to overcome emotional stressors, how animal strategies differ from the strategies of humans, in particular that of those on the autism spectrum. In addition, she is looking to explore how humans can manipulate environments to increase the welfare of both captive non-human animals and endangered animals outside of captivity with the hopes of increasing reproductive success and increasing quality of life.
Audrey is now working as a behavioral specialist.
Audrey is now working as a behavioral specialist.
Valeria Zamisch (MS 2010)
Student Publications
Aradhye, C. & Vonk, J. (2015). Adults’ responsiveness to infant expression. Journal of
Experimental Child Psychology.
Aradhye, C. & Vonk, J. (2014). Theory of mind in grandiose and vulnerable facets of
Narcissism. [pp 347-363] Invited chapter in Besser. A. (Ed.) Handbook of the Psychology
of Narcissism: Diverse Perspectives, Nova Publishers.
Brothers, B.(2012). Survival processing: Its potential role as a learning strategy
(2nd rev.). Proceedings of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Ithaca College, NY.
Brothers, B. (in press). Survival processing: Its potential role as a learning strategy. Saraswati: the Honors College Journal on Undergraduate Research of Florida International University. Miami, FL.
Cater, T.E., Zeigler-Hill, V. & Vonk, J. (2011). Narcissism and recollections of
early life experiences. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 935-939.
Eaton, T., Hutton, R., Leete, J., Lieb, J., Robeson, A. & Vonk, J. (2018). Bottoms-up:
Rejecting top-down human-centered approaches in comparative psychology.
International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 31.
Galvan, M. & Vonk, J. (2016). Man’s other best friend: Domestic cats (F. silvestris catus)
and their understanding of human emotion cues. Animal Cognition, 19, 193-205.
Hamilton, Jϯ. & Vonk, J. (2015). Do dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) recognize kin? Behavioral Processes, 119, 123-134.
Hoffmaster, Eϯ.,Vonk, J., & Mies, R. (2016). Education to action: Improving public
perception of bats. Animals, 6:6 DOI: 10.3390/ani6010006
Johnson-Ulrich, Z., Hoffmaster, E., Robeson, A. & Vonk, J. (2017). Visual acuity in the
striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 131, 384-389.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/com0000064
Johnson-Ulrich, Z. & Vonk, J. (2018). Spatial representation of magnitude in humans
(Homo sapiens), Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and American black
bears, (Ursus americanus). Animal Cognition, 21, 531-550. doi:10.1007/s10071-018- 1186-y
Johnson-Ulrich, Z., Vonk, J., Humbyrd, M., Crowley, M., Wojtkowsk, E., Yates, F., & Allard, S. (in press). Picture object correspondence in an American black bear (Ursus
Americanus). Animal Cognition DOI: 10.1007/s10071-016-1011-4
McGuire, M.C., Johnson-Ulrich, Z., Robeson, A., Zeigler-Hill, V., & Vonk, J. (2018). I
say thee “neigh”: Rescued equids are optimistic in a judgment bias task. Journal of
Veterinary Behavior, 25, 85-91.
McGuire, M. C. & Vonk, J. (2018). Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) fail to learn
abstract cues of differential outcomes in a novel cognitive bias test. Animal
Behavior and Cognition, 5, 103-117. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.05.01.08.2018
McGuire, M., Vonk, J., Fuller, G., & Allard, S. (2017). Using an ambiguous cue paradigm to assess cognitive bias in gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) during a browse manipulation. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 4, 91-104.
McGuire, M.C., Vonk, J. & Johnson-Ulrich, Z. (2017). Ambiguous results when using
the ambiguous-cue paradigm to assess learning and cognitive bias in gorillas and a black
bear. Behavioral Sciences, 7(3), 51; doi:10.3390/bs7030051
McGuire, M., Williams, K.L, Welling, L., & Vonk, J. (2015). Cognitive bias in rats is not influenced by oxytocin. Frontiers in Comparative Psychology, 6, 1306-1331
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01306
Schwartz, B. L. & Brothers, B. (2013). Survival processing and paired associate learning. In B. L. Schwartz, M. L. Howe, M. P. Toglia, and H. Otgaar (Eds.). What is adaptive about adaptive memory? Psychology Press.
Vonk, J., Allard,S. Torgerson-White, L. Bennett,C, Galvan, M. ϯ.McGuire, M.M. ϯ Hamilton, J. ϯ, Johnson-Ulrich, Z. ϯ, & Lieb. J. ϯ (2015). Manipulating spatial and visual cues in a win-stay foraging task in captive grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilus). [pp. 47-60]. In Spatial memory: Long and short-term memory: Functions, differences and effects of injury, Nova publishers, Hauppauge, NY.
Vonk, J. & Aradhye, C. (in press). Evolution of cognition. Encyclopedia of Human
Biology, 3rd Edition, Elsevier.
Vonk, J., & Eaton, T. (in press). Personality in nonhuman animals: Comparative perspectives and applications. In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. Shackelford (Eds.). The Sage Handbook of Personality and Individual Differences, Sage Publishers.
Vonk, J. & Galvan, M. (2014). What do natural categorization studies tell us about apes and bears?
Animal Behavior & Cognition.
Vonk, J. & Hamilton, J. (2014). Orangutans (Pongo abelii) and a Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) match features in familiar and unfamiliar individuals. Animal Cognition.
Vonk, J. Hoffmaster, E ϯ., Johnson-Ulrich, Z. ϯ & Oriani, S ϯ. (2015). If we build it
comparative psychologists will come: Commentary on “A crisis in comparative psychology: Where have all the undergraduates gone” Frontiers in Comparative
Psychology, 6:1700. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01700 .
Vonk, J., & Jett, S.E. (2018). “Bear-ly” learning: Limits of abstraction in black bear
cognition. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 5, 68-78. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.05.01.06.2018
Vonk, J., Jett. S.E., & Mosteller, K.W. (2012) Concept formation in American black bears
(Ursus americanus). Animal Behaviour, 84, 953-964.
Vonk, J., Jett, S.E., Mosteller, K.W.,& Galvan, M. (2013). Natural category
discrimination in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at three levels of abstraction. Learning
and Behavior, DOI 10.3758/s13420-013-0103-0.
Vonk, J., Jett, S.E., Tomeny, T.S., Mercer, S., & Cwikla, J. (in press). Young children’s
theory of mind predicts more sharing with friends over time. Child Development,
https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13112
Vonk, J. & Johnson – Ulrich, Z. (2014). Social and non-social category
discriminations in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and American black bears (Ursus
americanus). Learning and Behavior.
Vonk, J. & Leete, J. (2017). Carnivore concepts: Categorization in carnivores “bears”
further study. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 30. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/61363164
Vonk, J., Pattonϯ, C. & Galvan, M. 2016). Not so cold-blooded: Narcissistic and borderline personality traits predict attachment to traditional and non-traditional pets. Anthrozoos, 49, 627-637.
Vonk, J., McGuire, M , & Johnson-Ulrich, Z. (2015). The Evolution of social cognition. Invited chapter for V. Zeigler-Hill, L. Welling & T.K. Shackelford (Eds). Evolutionary Perspectives on Social Psychology, Springer.
Vonk, J., Torgerson-White, L, McGuire, M., Thueme, M., Thomas, J. & Beran, M.J. (2014). Quantity
estimation and comparison in Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Animal Cognition.
Vonk, J., Zeigler-Hill, V., Cater, T.E., & Aradhye, C. (in press). Believe what I believe:
Correspondence between the beliefs of young adults and the perceived beliefs of their
caregivers. Paper submitted to Journal of Genetic Psychology
West, S., Jett, S.E., Beckman, T. & Vonk, J. (2010). The phylogenetic roots of cognitive
dissonance. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 124, 424-432.
Zamisch, V. & Vonk, J. (2012). Spatial memory in captive American black bears (Ursus
Americanus). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 126, 372-387.
Zeigler-Hill, V., Besser, A., & Jett, S.E. (in press). Laughing at the looking glass: Does
humor style serve as an interpersonal signal? Evolutionary Psychology.
