Laurie R. Santos, Yale Psychology Faculty

My research explores the evolutionary origins of the human mind by comparing the cognitive abilities of human and non-human primates. It provides an interface between evolutionary biology, developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. My experiments focus on non-human primates (in captivity and in the field) incorporating methodologies from cognitive development, animal learning psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. My research examines the following broad questions: what domains of knowledge are unique to the human mind? Given that human infants and non-human primates both lack language, what similarities and differences do we see in the expression of non-linguistic domains of knowledge?

My current work explores what primates understand about physical objects and their motions, how primates spontaneously reason about different kinds of things (foods, artifacts, and animals), and whether or not non-human primates possess precursors to a theory of mind.

Sample Publications

Santos, L. R., Nissen, A. G. & Ferrugia, J. (2006). Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) know what others can and cannot hear. Animal Behaviour, 71(5). 1175-1181.

Chen, M. K., Lakshminaryanan, V. & Santos, L. R. (2006). The evolution of our preferences: Evidence from capuchin monkey trading behavior. Journal of Political Economy, 114(3). 517-537.

Santos, L. R., Seelig, D., & Hauser, M. D. (2006). Cotton-top tamarins? (Saguinus oedipus) expectations about occluded objects: A dissociation between looking and reaching tasks. Infancy, 9(2). 147-171.

Flombaum, J. I., and Santos, L. R. (2005). Rhesus monkeys attribute perceptions to others. Current Biology, 15. 447-452.

Santos, L. R. (2004). 'Core knowledges': A dissociation between spatiotemporal knowledge and contact-mechanics in a non-human primate? Developmental Science, 7. 167-174.