I am a comparative/cognitive psychologist with primary research interests in three overlapping areas: (1) animal cognition, (2) cognitive development, and (3) social cognition. The underlying goal of my work is to examine cognitive continuities and discontinuities between humans and both closely and distantly related species. Thus, my work focuses on examining both phylogenetic and ontogenetic origins of cognitive processes thought to be unique to humans. Current work centers on species differences and individual differences in social cognition, such as theory of mind, prosociality, and reasoning about emotions, as well as physical cognition, such as causal reasoning, analogical reasoning, numerosity, and natural concept formation. More recent work is focused on examining the effects of religiosity, attachment, and perspective-taking on human decision-making processes.
In the News
Interview with Ricardo Lopes for the Dissenter
Interview with Dave Brodbeck for Spit and Twitches
Interview for International Seminar on Behavioral Methods
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/343235/title/Average_bear_could_be_pretty_smart
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/2012/06/20/the-average-bear-is-smarter-than-you-thought/
http://www.nature.com/news/monkeys-stay-away-from-meanies-1.12551
http://phys.org/news/2013-09-evidence-orangutans-gorillas-images-based.html
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/3903/20130910/apes-visually-organizate-biological-information-humans.htm
http://blog.peerj.com/post/61024819933/interview-with-an-author-jennifer-vonk
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/many-animals-can-think-abstractly/
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151015-your-cat-can-pick-up-on-how-you-are-feeling
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/17562/20151015/cats-interpret-owners-emotions-new-study-reveals.htm
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/17562/20151015/cats-interpret-owners-emotions-new-study-reveals.htm
