Announcement of a funded joint PhD between the Universities of Pisa (Italy) and Rennes (France)
Supervisors:
Professor Elisabetta Palagi (elisabetta.palagi@unipi.it) – Dept. Biology, Unit of Ethology, University of Pisa (Italy)
Professor Alban Lemasson (alban.lemasson@univ-rennes1.fr) – Animal and Human ethology Unit, Université of Rennes 1 (France)
PhD topic: Exploring the origins of empathy in primates with an ethological approach
The concept of empathy embraces two main aspects: the sharing of emotions (emotional empathy) and the adoption of another’s viewpoint (cognitive empathy). Empathy allows the individual to quickly relate to the states of others, which is essential for the regulation of social interactions, coordinated activity, and cooperation toward shared goals. Nonhuman primates provide a critical window through which we can explore the evolutionary origins of human empathy and, possibly, identify its uniqueness. Mirroring mechanisms such as behavioural contagion and mimicry are good indicators of the ability of individuals to emotionally resonate with others. More studies are now needed to better understand the role of multimodal communication in improving emotion recognition and regulation abilities. Yawn contagion, rapid mimicry and contact call exchanges are ideal behavioural candidates to accomplish the goal because they involve both visual and acoustic cues. To fill the gap, we aim at studying this intriguing aspect by both experimental and naturalistic approaches by implementing and integrating different ethological techniques. By comparing species that are phylogenetically close but socially varied (e.g. red-capped mangabeys and gelada baboons), we can also explore the evolutionary role of social life in regulating the emotions of self and others.
Beginning of the PhD: early November 2022 - Duration: 3 years
Online registration before 17/10/2022 13h (Italian time): https://dottorato.unipi.it/index.php/it/concorsi-d-ammissione-a-a-2022-2023/item/698.html
Audition of successful candidates: 24/10/2022 (videoconference)
For more details about the project and about the doctoral competition (English version soon available):