Psychology Program Presents
Challenges in the Pursuit of Cognitive Continuity and Discontinuity: Human and Non-Human Comparisons
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Preston Theater
A lecture by Jennifer Vonk, PhD, Oakland University
Recently, comparative psychology has enjoyed a renewed breadth of both topics and species studied. Our recent work focuses on cognitive capacities in rats, cats, bats, dogs, bears, skunks, and gorillas. By testing both closely and distantly related species we can determine whether cognitive abilities reflect ecological similarities or shared phylogenetic histories. For instance, bears have demonstrated cognitive skills commensurate with those of primates despite their relatively less social lifestyles. That is, they can enumerate static and moving stimuli and form concepts at varying levels of abstraction. We are currently testing other species, such as bats and skunks that vary in diet to examine the effects of diet on capacities such as causal reasoning. Each unique species poses special challenges as we attempt to understand the world through their eyes, rather than projecting our own human-centered view on to them.For more information, call 845-758-7621, or e-mail [email protected].
Location: Preston Theater