Attention undergrads: would you like to do research in the lab next summer?

 

UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESIS STUDENT 2010

 

Yuting Chiang, Human Evolutionary Biology, Senior, Harvard University

(email): ychiang@fas.harvard.edu

Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that anticipating the punishment of a moral transgressor stimulates the natural reward systems in the brain. Punishment is widely regarded as critical in the evolution of cooperative behaviors among human beings. I am interested in the relationship between intuitive moral judgments and notions of punishment. In particular I am studying how the mind distinguishes moral transgressions from regular conventional transgressions and how the brain processes punishments across both domains.

 

 

Laura DiCola, Human Evolutionary Biology, Senior, Harvard University

(email): ldicola@fas.harvard.edu

The goal of my research is to understand how humans decide what constitutes forbidden physical contact between related family members. Incest, defined most narrowly as sexual intercourse between related individuals, is one of only a few acts that evoke not only universal moral condemnation but also visceral disgust. However, we also classify less intimate forms of contact between family members as ‘intuitively’ forbidden and/or disgusting; it remains unclear what parameters (i.e. the ages of the actors, their relationship, the kind of the contact etc.) are involved in determining whether the contact is permissible. I am interested in determining what these parameters are, the degree to which they are universal, and finally to assess these parameters in the context of past research on human mechanisms for incest avoidance.

 

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UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESIS STUDENT 2009

 

Jordan Comins, Human Evolutionary Biology, MBB; Senior, Harvard University

(email): jcomins@fas.harvard.edu

The formation of animal models presents a major challenge in understanding the neural basis of any complex behavior, including the perception of others' intentions. The Hauser Lab has recently shown that adult free-ranging rhesus macaques, a species of Old World monkey, readily discriminate intentional and accidental behaviors and use human eye gaze to infer their goal. My thesis investigates the developmental trajectory of these perceptual mechanisms. I will be interested to identify any similarities in the development of these perceptual capacities in human infants and juvenile rhesus monkeys.

 

 

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UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESIS STUDENTS 2008

 

 

Koni Banerjee, Psychology, Human Evolutionary Biology; Senior, Harvard University

(email): kbanerj@fas.harvard.edu

My thesis investigates the nature of intelligence in tamarin monkeys. In order to probe questions regarding the cognitive capacities that underlie tamarin intelligence, I am working on designing and executing an IQ battery that presents subjects with a wide array of tasks that tap into varied cognitive skill domains. I will be interested to see if animals that perform well on certain tasks reliably perform well on other tasks that constitute both overlapping as well as distinct cognitive domains. We are hoping to find out whether something akin to "g" general intelligence exists in tamarins as it does in humans, or whether this feature of cognitive functioning is specific only to our own species. Finally, interesting effects of temperamental factors, gender, age, and geneology will be examined for effects on tamarin "IQ" and cognitive performance.

 

Sarah Carden, Human Evolutionary Biology, MBB; Senior, Harvard University

(email): sjcarden@fas.harvard.edu

My thesis is about the evolution of specific cognitive mechanisms suspected to be essential to language. Specifically, I tested for them in chimpanzees.

Read Sarah's thesis here.

 

 

Kyle Foreman, Psychology, MBB; Senior, Harvard University

(email): kforeman@fas.harvard.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

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UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESIS STUDENTS 2007

Sarah R. Heilbronner, Psychology, Senior, Harvard University
(email): heilbron@fas.harvard.edu

I'm interested in the mechanisms and evolution of decision-making strategies, especially those involving some temporal component. As rewards are pushed into the future, they become subjectively less valuable. My research explores why this occurs the way it does, and in particular the contributions of interruption risk and attention.

Read Sarah's thesis here.

 

 

 

Jeanette G. Wickelgren, Neurobiology, Senior, Harvard University
(email): wickelg@fas.harvard.edu

My thesis research investigates the plasticity of primate acoustic communication, specifically in the temporal and frequency domains. Popular opinion holds that primates have no flexibility in their vocal output. Our experiments test the extent and mechanism of their ability to use simple white noise feedback to alter the fundamental frequency and timing of their vocalizations. The timing experiments also explore their ability to learn and remember acoustic patterns with both temporal and type information.

 

 

 

 

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UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESIS STUDENTS 2006

Maria Barth, "Omission Bias in Young Children"
(email): mbarth@fas.harvard.edu

In the classic trolley car problem, one person flips a switch that results in a trolley killing five people while another person does not flip a switch that will save the lives of five people. Which is worse? Previous research in the Moral Sense Test (MST) has shown that adults tend to rate the first person’s behavior as worse. This problem illustrates the phenomenon of “omission bias”; that is, the belief that harm caused by an action deserves more blame than harm caused by failure to act. My study looks at whether young children (ages 5-7) also show this phenomenon. Children are presented with short stories about action and failure to act, and are then asked about the characters’ behavior. The characters in these stories share the same intentions, and their behavior produces identical consequences. The only difference between the stories is whether the harm resulted from action or omission. We hope this study will provide insight into the developmental pathway of omission bias.

Read Maria's thesis here.

 

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