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RESEARCH INTERESTS
Humans have evolved a remarkable suite of cognitive abilities for navigating the complexities of the social world. We track others’ social relationships, evaluate others based on their behavior or identity, and even attempt to infer their thoughts and emotions. That our potential social partners possess these skills, too, is precisely what makes the social world so complex. In turn, we must manage our reputations and relationships, adhere to the norms of our group, and strategically navigate manifold cooperative and competitive interactions. How do humans represent the endless complexity of the social world? Do our closest phylogenetic relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus), see the world in much the same way? To which features of the human mind do we owe our unrivaled social complexity? That is, which aspects of human sociality and social cognition are unique to our species? And which are shared with other apes and were likely present 6-9 million years ago in our last common ancestor? Finally, how did evolution engineer this most distinctive feature of humanity, our social mind? I study the cognitive mechanisms that underlie social decision-making and shape social complexity in humans and other animals—such as theory of mind, social knowledge, and mental time travel. I also study the evolutionary origins of these mechanisms and of sociality more broadly. Focusing chiefly on humans and the other great apes, my work integrates theory and method from both evolutionary anthropology and cognitive science. |
ABOUT ME
I am an assistant professor and director of the Social and Cognitive Origins group in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University (USA). My research group uses diverse experimental approaches to study social and nonsocial cognition across a range of species, including humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and domestic dogs. Topics of particular interest include: what humans and other animals know about other social agents, their social relationships, and their mental states; how they predict social behavior and make social decisions; the extent to which they can be political or moral; the content and properties of mental representation; logic; metacognition; perspective-taking; normativity; mental time travel; and what makes the human mind unique.
Prospective PhD Students: Interested students should apply (here) to the PhD program in psychological & brain sciences at JHU, indicating me as a prospective supervisor and clearly articulating in their materials the match between their background and research interests and the resources and interests of my group. Decisions are made at the department level with admitted students receiving five-year funding packages.
Applications are due each year in mid-December. Prospective students are welcome to reach out with questions or to introduce themselves. However, for the December 2022 application deadline, I am not actively recruiting new PhD students.
Postdocs: Those interested in exploring postdoc opportunities within the lab are encouraged to reach out to discuss potential projects and funding sources.
I am an assistant professor and director of the Social and Cognitive Origins group in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University (USA). My research group uses diverse experimental approaches to study social and nonsocial cognition across a range of species, including humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and domestic dogs. Topics of particular interest include: what humans and other animals know about other social agents, their social relationships, and their mental states; how they predict social behavior and make social decisions; the extent to which they can be political or moral; the content and properties of mental representation; logic; metacognition; perspective-taking; normativity; mental time travel; and what makes the human mind unique.
Prospective PhD Students: Interested students should apply (here) to the PhD program in psychological & brain sciences at JHU, indicating me as a prospective supervisor and clearly articulating in their materials the match between their background and research interests and the resources and interests of my group. Decisions are made at the department level with admitted students receiving five-year funding packages.
Applications are due each year in mid-December. Prospective students are welcome to reach out with questions or to introduce themselves. However, for the December 2022 application deadline, I am not actively recruiting new PhD students.
Postdocs: Those interested in exploring postdoc opportunities within the lab are encouraged to reach out to discuss potential projects and funding sources.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Kano, F., Krupenye, C., Hirata, S., Tomonaga, M., & Call, J. (2019). Great apes use self- experience to anticipate an agent’s action in a false belief test.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(42), 20904-20909. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1910095116.
Krupenye, C. & Call, J. (2019). Theory of mind in animals: Current and future directions. WIREs Cognitive Science, e1503. read-only link
Krupenye, C., Tan, J., & Hare, B. (2018). Bonobos voluntarily hand food to others but not toys or tools. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285(1886): 20181536. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1536
Krupenye, C., and Hare, B. (2018). Bonobos prefer individuals that hinder others over those that help. Current Biology. 28(2): 280-286.
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.11.061.
Krupenye, C.*, Kano, F.*, Hirata, S., Call, J., and Tomasello, M. (2016). Great apes anticipate that other individuals will act according to false beliefs. Science,
354(6308): 110-114. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf8110.
Krupenye, C., Rosati, A.G., and Hare, B. (2015). Bonobos and chimpanzees exhibit human-like framing effects. Biology Letters, 11(2). doi:
10.1098/rsbl.2014.0527.
Kano, F., Krupenye, C., Hirata, S., Tomonaga, M., & Call, J. (2019). Great apes use self- experience to anticipate an agent’s action in a false belief test.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(42), 20904-20909. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1910095116.
Krupenye, C. & Call, J. (2019). Theory of mind in animals: Current and future directions. WIREs Cognitive Science, e1503. read-only link
Krupenye, C., Tan, J., & Hare, B. (2018). Bonobos voluntarily hand food to others but not toys or tools. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285(1886): 20181536. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1536
Krupenye, C., and Hare, B. (2018). Bonobos prefer individuals that hinder others over those that help. Current Biology. 28(2): 280-286.
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.11.061.
Krupenye, C.*, Kano, F.*, Hirata, S., Call, J., and Tomasello, M. (2016). Great apes anticipate that other individuals will act according to false beliefs. Science,
354(6308): 110-114. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf8110.
Krupenye, C., Rosati, A.G., and Hare, B. (2015). Bonobos and chimpanzees exhibit human-like framing effects. Biology Letters, 11(2). doi:
10.1098/rsbl.2014.0527.
