Date: Thursday 21st February 2019
Time: 12:00-13:00
Room: Building 9 BG09A
Emily Bethall (Liverpool John Moores University)
Abstract:
Reliable methods to
measure cognitive components of wellbeing are receiving increased attention.
‘Cognitive bias’ tasks, for example, are used to assess different emotion
states based on how animals respond to ambiguity– negative emotions, it is
argued, lead to negative judgements about ambiguous information. These methods
have now been developed for use with a wide range of species including mammals,
birds and insects. While these methods show much promise, there are still
limitations in their application across different research contexts, and
published findings are variable. I have been developing complementary tasks
that require less initial training and which should have more utility for
assessing animal emotions in real world settings. I will review studies we have
conducted with nonhuman primates in both free-ranging and laboratory settings
and discuss our early data showing potential mediating effects of early life
stress and genetic factors. As a still-emerging field, I discuss future
directions for this area of research including their potential use for
assessing positive affect.
This
talk is aimed at anyone interested in psychology,
especially cognitive psychology, and emotion in non-human primates.
Students are encouraged
to attend as attendance would benefit both undergraduate and postgraduate research
students from psychology and related fields
Biography: Emily’s research
focus is primate social cognition and behaviour: what monkeys and apes can tell
us about human evolution, and the implications of similarities and differences
in cognitive processes for understanding and improving psychological wellbeing
of primates in captivity.
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