Associate Professor, Psychology and Anthropology
About
My group examines the evolutionary origins of the human mind. How do our primate relatives think about the world, are their psychological abilities similar to or different from our own, and why do some species differ in their cognitive abilities? Our research uses a comparative approach drawing on evolutionary theory, cognitive science, and developmental psychology to understand how complex cognitive traits emerge within species over ontogeny, and between species over evolutionary time. We are especially focused on capacities supporting decision-making, executive control, and social cognition. To do this work, we study a variety of semi-free-ranging ape, monkey, and lemur populations.
Selected publications:
Rosati, A.G., Emery Thompson, M., Atencia, R., & Buckholtz, J.W. (2023). Distinct developmental trajectories for risky and impulsive decision-making in chimpanzees. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
De Petrillo, F., Nair, P., Cantwell, A., & Rosati, A.G. (2022). The evolution of cognitive control in lemurs. Psychological Science.
Rosati, A.G., Machanda, Z.P., & Slocombe, K.E. (2022). Cognition in the wild: understanding animal thought in its natural context. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences.
Cantwell, A., Buckholtz, J.W., Atencia, R., & Rosati, A.G. (2022). The origins of cognitive flexibility in chimpanzees. Developmental Science.
Rosati, A.G., Hagberg, L., Enigk, D.K., Otali, E., Emery Thompson, M., Muller, M.N., Wrangham, R.W., & Machanda, Z.P. (2020) Social selectivity in aging wild chimpanzees. Science.
Machanda, Z.P. & Rosati, A.G. (2020). Shifting sociality during primate ageing. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
De Petrillo, F. & Rosati, A.G. (2019). Rhesus macaques use probabilities to predict future events. Evolution and Human Behavior,
Rosati, A.G., DiNicola, L., & Buckholtz, J.W. (2018). Chimpanzee cooperation is fast, and independent from self-control. Psychological Science.
Rosati, A.G. (2017). Foraging cognition: reviving the ecological intelligence hypothesis. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
