Post-doctoral Position in Comparative Social Cognition:
The Cognitive Foundations of Social Minds
https://careers.umich.edu/job_detail/199180/research_fellow
The Cognitive Foundations of Social Minds
https://careers.umich.edu/job_detail/199180/research_fellow
A postdoctoral position in comparative social cognition shared between the Department
of Behavioral Sciences-Psychology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the
Department of Psychology University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is available beginning as
early as September 2021. Candidates with a Ph.D. in primate behavior and
cognition/comparative cognition, cognitive psychology, or related fields are encouraged
to apply.
The position is funded for up to three years by the Templeton World Charity Foundation
- Diverse Intelligences division. The position involves comparative data collection and
analysis through testing bonobos, chimpanzees and humans (children and adults) using
virtual reality (non-invasive testing only). This social cognitive project has four main
objectives. First, it will rigorously evaluate the theoretical foundations of intentional
cooperation by nonhuman animals (apes) compared to humans as distinct from
behaviors (ie., competitive) that may appear to be cooperative. The cross-species
comparison also aims to identify whether nonhuman apes exhibit pre-cursors to, or the
full repertoire of, intentional cooperation. Second, the project will include developing
formal theoretical models in the form of computational agent models of the learning and
behavioral strategies exhibited by the nonhuman apes and humans. Third, the
introduction of ape avatars will allow exploration of questions about ‘self’ in virtual
reality, and to further our understanding of Theory of Mind in nonhuman primates. The
fourth aim is to advance the science and methods of testing nonhuman primate
cognition using virtual reality.
The postdoctoral position will benefit from interaction with other research team
members and world-class faculty at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor and Dearborn
campuses), and research team members at the University of St. Andrews’ Psychology
Department and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
Interested candidates should send applications (CV, statement of research interests,
names of 3 references) to Dr. Francine Dolins (fdolins@umich.edu) and Dr. Richard
Lewis (rickl@umich.edu).
of Behavioral Sciences-Psychology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the
Department of Psychology University of Michigan-Ann Arbor is available beginning as
early as September 2021. Candidates with a Ph.D. in primate behavior and
cognition/comparative cognition, cognitive psychology, or related fields are encouraged
to apply.
The position is funded for up to three years by the Templeton World Charity Foundation
- Diverse Intelligences division. The position involves comparative data collection and
analysis through testing bonobos, chimpanzees and humans (children and adults) using
virtual reality (non-invasive testing only). This social cognitive project has four main
objectives. First, it will rigorously evaluate the theoretical foundations of intentional
cooperation by nonhuman animals (apes) compared to humans as distinct from
behaviors (ie., competitive) that may appear to be cooperative. The cross-species
comparison also aims to identify whether nonhuman apes exhibit pre-cursors to, or the
full repertoire of, intentional cooperation. Second, the project will include developing
formal theoretical models in the form of computational agent models of the learning and
behavioral strategies exhibited by the nonhuman apes and humans. Third, the
introduction of ape avatars will allow exploration of questions about ‘self’ in virtual
reality, and to further our understanding of Theory of Mind in nonhuman primates. The
fourth aim is to advance the science and methods of testing nonhuman primate
cognition using virtual reality.
The postdoctoral position will benefit from interaction with other research team
members and world-class faculty at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor and Dearborn
campuses), and research team members at the University of St. Andrews’ Psychology
Department and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
Interested candidates should send applications (CV, statement of research interests,
names of 3 references) to Dr. Francine Dolins (fdolins@umich.edu) and Dr. Richard
Lewis (rickl@umich.edu).
The University of Michigan-Dearborn sits on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations comprising the Ojibwe, the Odawa, and the Potawatomie.
"Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There
is a crack in everything,That's how the light gets in." ~ Leonard Cohen
“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg