PhD project:

By imitating others, we can learn how to do tasks more quickly than if we were to solve them through trial and error. But sometimes, individuals who we are watching may include unnecessary actions in their demonstrations, and humans often choose to copy these actions too. This is called overimitation, a phenomenon said to be involved in the transmission of human culture and traditions.

Although there is an absense of evidence of overimitation in great-apes, dogs have been shown to copy unnecessary actions from their caregivers. My PhD project is investigating why this may be, with a particular interest in social motivations behind overimitation behaviour in both dogs and humans. Humans vary their overimitation depending on factors like who is demonstrating and what is demonstrated, so does this also matter to dogs? Varying contexts can facilitate or reduce one's desire to copy unnecessary actions, since overimitating is ultimately an inefficient way to complete a task. 

Past experiences:

Growing up in Scotland, I studied for my Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Dundee. It wasn't until my final year that I discovered the world of animal and comparative cognition, and that it could be a possible career path. After some years working as an English teacher in Japan, I returned to Scotland to obtain my Master's in Evolutionary and Comparative Psychology at the University of St Andrews. My Master's thesis explored chimpanzee decision-making behaviour in a cooperative and effort-based task; a project that was (and is) part of Josep Call's lab group. I then came straight to Vienna to begin my PhD project.

Outside the lab:

You can find me pottering around the parks of Vienna, working from coffee shops, in a yoga studio or playing video games. I also often enjoy travelling to visit friends and family or nearby cities and towns.

Contact:

Email: louise.mackie@vetmeduni.ac.at

Twitter: LouiseEMackie