What Do We Have in Common With Monkeys?

Laurie Santos of Yale University will discuss the quirks and survival skills we have in common with monkeys in her talk at Purchase College on November 5 at 7 PM in room 1001 of the Natural Sciences Building.

The talk is part of the School of Natural and Social Sciences Fall lecture series.  Admission is free.  Call 914-251-6631.

Ms. Santos’ study of primates shows they have many of the same survival skills as humans from forming groups to a knack for taking risks and deceiving adversaries.  She also notes that monkeys possess many of the quirks and foibles once considered uniquely human.

Her wide-ranging studies have observed primates who hoard, commit larceny, are competitive and show evidence they are capable of sophisticated insight, complex reasoning, and calculated action.   

Laurie Santos is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Yale University whose research explores the evolutionary origins of the human mind by comparing the abilities of human and non-human primates.  Her work employs elements of evolutionary biology, developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience to understand reasoning and learning.

Her talk is called “The Evolution of Irrationality: Insights from Nonhuman Primates.”