Welcome to the Comparative Cognition Laboratory!

Welcome to the Comparative Cognition Laboratory!

The Comparative Cognition Laboratory explores the evolutionary origins of the human mind by comparing the cognitive abilities of human and non-human primates. Our studies focus on a number of different primate species and incorporate methodologies from cognitive development and cognitive neuroscience.

Our 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?

Our 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.

Press

Dogs Have a Positive Impact on Their Guardians’ Stress

September 21, 2023
A new study, featuring Dr. Santos as a co-author, has revealed the positive impact that pet dogs have on their guardians' recovery from a stress-inducing task. Read more...

Angie comments on a canine empathy study!

July 26, 2018
Our graduate student Angie Johnston was quoted in two articles about a study that investigates canine empathy. Check out what she had to say in CNN and Smithsonian Magazine!

My Dog Shares My Anxiety

May 16, 2018
Jeff Harder, who worked with us for a Boston Globe article, recently published a new article about his dog Mabel in the Hartford Courant. It features some footage from his...
More news...