Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Heriot-Watt University
Department of Psychology
School of Social Sciences
Heriot-Watt University
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I am a primatologist, broadly interested in studies of behavioural ecology in humans and non-human primates. My main research interests are in social behaviour, traditions, and culture. In particular, I study social cognition and behaviour, namely the transmission of behaviours, e.g., through innovation, social learning, teaching, and prosociality. My research has included studies with children, monkeys and apes (see Research for more details). I am also a keen science communicator interested in public engagement and disseminating scientific principles through developing educational tools. I view improving communication between individuals as a direct extension of my research focus on the social transmission of information and knowledge.
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Biography:
Prior to joining Heriot-Watt in 2022, I have worked at Heriot-Watt University, the University of St Andrews, and the University of Texas at Austin for my post-doctoral studies. At Heriot-Watt University, I explored the social influences of prosociality in young children with Dr Nicola McGuigan. As part of these studies, I presented children with a series of different prosocial tasks to investigate how social partners influence sharing between pairs of children. While at the University of St Andrews, I worked with Mr Paul Gardner, Dr Gayle Doherty, and Dr Maggie Ellis to help develop activities to teach young children how to keep their brains healthy. My last post-doctoral work was at the University of Texas at Austin with Professor Cristine Legare in the Evolution, Variation, and Ontogeny of Learning Laboratory (EVO-Learn Lab). This National Science funded project focused on addressing the cultural context of teaching and social learning by studying social and cognitive developmental outcomes working with children and their caregivers from diverse global populations.
Since completing my PhD, I acted as a research assistant on a project investigating conformity in children aged 3-8 years. After this, I covered a lecturer's maternity leave working on projects addressing intuitive statistical learning in squirrel monkeys, causal understanding in capuchin monkeys, and set-shifting and working memory in adult humans.
For my PhD studies, my work has focused on how the underlying social structure of groups of capuchin and squirrel monkeys affects the spread of artificially seeded behaviours and behaviours already part of their repertoire. I did my PhD at the University of St Andrews, where I investigated social learning of foraging techniques and the social behaviour of single and mixed-species communities of capuchin and squirrel monkeys. Working under the supervision of Professor Andrew Whiten, I conducted my PhD studies at the 'Living Links to Human Evolution' Research Centre in Edinburgh Zoo and successfully defended my PhD thesis in 2013.
Prior to joining Heriot-Watt in 2022, I have worked at Heriot-Watt University, the University of St Andrews, and the University of Texas at Austin for my post-doctoral studies. At Heriot-Watt University, I explored the social influences of prosociality in young children with Dr Nicola McGuigan. As part of these studies, I presented children with a series of different prosocial tasks to investigate how social partners influence sharing between pairs of children. While at the University of St Andrews, I worked with Mr Paul Gardner, Dr Gayle Doherty, and Dr Maggie Ellis to help develop activities to teach young children how to keep their brains healthy. My last post-doctoral work was at the University of Texas at Austin with Professor Cristine Legare in the Evolution, Variation, and Ontogeny of Learning Laboratory (EVO-Learn Lab). This National Science funded project focused on addressing the cultural context of teaching and social learning by studying social and cognitive developmental outcomes working with children and their caregivers from diverse global populations.
Since completing my PhD, I acted as a research assistant on a project investigating conformity in children aged 3-8 years. After this, I covered a lecturer's maternity leave working on projects addressing intuitive statistical learning in squirrel monkeys, causal understanding in capuchin monkeys, and set-shifting and working memory in adult humans.
For my PhD studies, my work has focused on how the underlying social structure of groups of capuchin and squirrel monkeys affects the spread of artificially seeded behaviours and behaviours already part of their repertoire. I did my PhD at the University of St Andrews, where I investigated social learning of foraging techniques and the social behaviour of single and mixed-species communities of capuchin and squirrel monkeys. Working under the supervision of Professor Andrew Whiten, I conducted my PhD studies at the 'Living Links to Human Evolution' Research Centre in Edinburgh Zoo and successfully defended my PhD thesis in 2013.
