My
work is both experimental and theoretical in the areas
of theory of mind (ToM), and the development and evolutionary
origins of human-unique cognition - with a focus on notions
of shared intentionality, communicative intentions, normativity
and representational content. I am also interested in
affect-evaluation-cognition interactions. My approach
is interdisciplinary, spanning experimental psychology
(cognitive and developmental), theoretical neuroscience
and evolutionary biology, and the philosophy of mind and
language. My current experimental research includes a
developmental study looking at the relationship between
performance on the prisoner's dilemma and ToM skills;
and a priming study on the interactions and temporal dynamics
of valence and arousal dimensions of word stimuli. Current
theoretical work explores the philosophical idea of 'intentionality'
in the context of Tomasello's shared intentionality (Vygotskian)
and Povinelli's (Representational Redescription) hypotheses.
Recent seminar and conference activity can be found here.
