February 2012
Posted February 2, 2012
Primate Psychology and Monkeynomics
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Kimberly Allen
Director of Development
816-926-8792
February 1, 2012
Primate Psychology and Monkeynomics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Can the collapse of the world financial markets be explained in part by human evolutionary history? Are human economic decisions – rational and irrational – determined as much by nature as by intellect? If given the opportunity, would a lemur run up a huge credit-card debt or an orangutan cash in a 401K? Why do many humans make the same poor economic choices over and over again? Psychology professor Laurie R. Santos, Director of Yale University’s Comparative Cognition Laboratory, explores questions about human economic behavior and decision-making through her behavioral studies of capuchin monkeys at the 10th Annual Paul D. Bartlett, Sr. Lecture on February 23rd at 7 p.m. at the Linda Hall Library, 5109 Cherry, Kansas City, Missouri. This event is free and open to the public but reservations are required and can be made by calling 816-926-8774 or visiting www.lindahall.org.
Dr. Santos is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Her research provides an interface between evolutionary biology, developmental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, exploring the evolutionary origins of the human mind by comparing the cognitive abilities of human and non-human primates. Her experiments focus on non-human primates (in captivity and in the field) incorporating methodologies from cognitive development, animal learning psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. Dr. Santos and her research team were featured on the PBS show “The Human Spark” in 2010.
This event is the 10th annual Paul D. Bartlett, Sr. lecture. The lecture series was established in 2003 to bring the finest university professors to Kansas City to speak on subjects related to the Linda Hall Library’s collection.
Paul D. Bartlett, Sr. was elected chairman of the Linda hall Library Board of Trustees at its first meeting in 1941. Under his leadership the Halls’ bequest for the creation of a public library in Kansas City was used to establish a library devoted to science, engineering and technology. Mr. Bartlett served on the Board until his death in 1964. The lecture series honors his stewardship of the Library. These annual lectures are presented by the Linda Hall Library in association with the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Kansas City, the Princeton Alumni Association of Greater Kansas City and the Yale Club of Kansas City.
The Linda Hall Library, the world’s largest privately funded library of science, engineering and technology, is open to the public. It is located at 5109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, Missouri. Library hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; and the second Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
#############################################
