The purpose of my research is to determine the cognitive, perceptual, and social factors that contribute to primate social perception. A growing body of literature suggests that visual information processing capacities are very similar in macaque monkeys and human infants, providing strong support for a macaque model of primate information processing. although many studies have described aspects of social behavior in primates, few have addressed the relationship between basic cognitive processes and the social nature of the stimulus. The proposed research addresses the extent to which modifications of demonstrated cognitive abilities such as memory vary with the social characteristics of the stimulus.
The specific aims of the research are to investigate (1) the nature of memory for faces (2) memory capacities for social categories, and (3) serial list learning of social stimuli, all with macaque monkey subjects. We will make use of recently developed computer imaging techniques for stimulus presentation, and some studies will incorporate new response recording techniques (i.e., touch-sensitive video monitors and subject-manipulated joysticks). It is expected that the results of these studies will provide an understanding of (a) the structure of social perception in macaque monkeys and (b) the interaction between cognition and social factors in primate social perception.
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