December 31, 2007
Monkey Theory of Mind
The new issue of Smithsonian magazine profiles the work of Yale psychologist Laurie Santos, 32, who hangs out with monkeys on an island off the coast of Puerto Rico to get inside their heads. She draws from cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology to suss out whether these non-human primates have a “theory of mind.” The “theory of mind” refers to the ability to recognize and understand others’ thoughts, desires, intentions, and feelings–basically to get where someone else if coming from. Santos tries to show that monkeys have this cognitive capacity. The article presents several of her field experiments and the results.