Chimpanzee

Exploring the evolution of animal minds

Discover our research in the Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology (CCEP)

The Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology (CCEP) is a multidisciplinary team of psychologists (developmental, cognitive, social and biological) and behavioural biologists.

Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology is the scientific study of the origins of mind and behaviour, and our work explores the evolutionary processes underpinning human behaviour and the comparison of humans with other animals. We have particular expertise in comparative social and spatial cognition, emotion, communication and facial expression.

Within the Centre (and in our Dog Cognition Centre) we are exploring the origins of mind and behaviour through the consideration of evolutionary processes and the comparison of humans with other animals. We're interested in how social structures are formed and how we can apply evolutionary thinking to understand today's problems.

And through a deeper understanding of the minds and behaviours of animals, we're exploring how humans have evolved – from how social structures are formed, to the ways in which evolutionary thinking can help solve the problems of today. Our research portal, Pure, has a full list of our staff and researchers working in this area.

You can also follow the Centre on Twitter @UoP_CCEP or email the Centre directly at ccep@port.ac.uk.

CCEP research focuses on the following areas:

Our evolutionary psychology research covers the following topics:

  • Human Evolutionary Psychology – including facial attractiveness; flirting; disgust sensitivity; olfaction; human facial expression; hormones and behaviour; personality; emotion; cooperation; human development
  • Primate Cognition – including communication; facial expression; FACS; acoustics; friendship; comparative developmental psychology; theory of mind; emotion; laughter; cooperation; reputation formation; competition; social learning; personality and learning; joint attention; decision-making; executive functioning; spatial cognition
  • Human-Animal Interaction, Conservation and Welfare – including conservation and rehabilitation of orangutans and sun bears in Borneo, elephant conservation, companion and working equid welfare; indices of positive emotion; stereotypies and maladaptive behaviour, public engagement in science, enrichment, education programs in Indonesia, animal advocacy and animal rights; animal–assisted therapy
  • Domestication and Cognition – including influence of domestication on cognition; animal-human communication; theory of mind in dogs; horse social cognition and behaviour; facial expressions; secondary emotions; emotion expression and perception, cooperation; reputation formation; inequity aversion; multi-sensory perception; physiological indices of emotion; friendship  

Recent publication highlights include:

Our members

Juliane Kaminski Portrait

Dr Juliane Kaminski

Associate Professor in Comparative Psychology

Juliane.Kaminski@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Kim A Bard Portrait

Professor Kim A. Bard

Professor of Comparative Developmental Psychology

Kim.Bard@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Marina Davila Ross Portrait

Dr Marina Davila Ross

Associate Professor in Comparative Psychology

Marina.Davila-Ross@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Lena Grinsted Portrait

Dr Lena Grinsted

Senior Lecturer

Lena.Grinsted@port.ac.uk

School of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Esther Herrmann Portrait

Dr Esther Herrmann

Senior Lecturer

Esther.Herrmann@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Marine Michell Joly Portrait

Dr Marine Joly

Associate Professor in Cognitive Ethology

marine.joly@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Jerome Francois Micheletta Portrait

Dr Jerome Micheletta

Associate Professor in Animal Behaviour

Jerome.Micheletta@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

PhD Supervisor

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Sophie Jane Milward Portrait

Dr Sophie Milward

Senior Lecturer

sophie.milward@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Dr Paul Morris

Principal Lecturer

Paul.Morris@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

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Edward Ralph Morrison Portrait

Mr Ed Morrison

Senior Lecturer

Ed.Morrison@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Leanne Clare Proops Portrait

Dr Leanne Proops

Associate Head (Research and Innovation)

leanne.proops@port.ac.uk

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Science and Health

PhD Supervisor

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Lucy Anne Bates Portrait

Dr Lucy Bates

Lecturer

Lucy.Bates@port.ac.uk

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Dr Teresa Romero

Senior Lecturer

Teresa.Romero@port.ac.uk

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Current postdoctoral researchers: Alan Rincon

Current postgraduate researchers: Olivia Barber, Violet Burek, James Clay, Madeleine Cleal, Peter Clark, Fabio Crepaldi, Melody Darblade, Barbara Fontana, Alexander Freemantle, Emily Haddy, Jennifer Leighton, Kate Lewis, Louise Loyant, Claire Perez, Florence Rocque, Jasmine Rollings, Laura Saunders, Derry Taylor

Interested in postgraduate study in Psychology?

Browse our postgraduate research projects at our Psychology research degrees page, visit the MRes Science and Health page, or search our Master's degrees in Psychology.

 



Internships and volunteering opportunities at the CCEP

We also offer internships and volunteering opportunities, please contact one of our member directly or the CCEP director, Juliane Kaminski.

Partnerships and funding

Our partnerships include:

  • Monkey Haven on the Isle of Wight – in partnership with Monkey Haven, we conduct cognitive and behavioural studies with rescued primates
  • The Macaca Nigra Project in Indonesia – we're linked with this unique fieldsite to study the behaviour of wild crested macaques
  • The Donkey Sanctuary – we collaborate with the sanctuary on research into the behavioural and logistical support needed for global welfare projects

Our recent funders include the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Leverhulme Trust, Marie Curie, the British Academy , The Leakey Foundation, The Waltham Foundation and the Royal Society. You can also see a full list of our recent funding awards at our research portal.

Take part in our research studies

We're always looking for volunteers to join our research study programmes.

If you're an adult interested in registering for a research study, please fill in the following form. 

Register now

If you're interested in registering a child for a research study, please fill in the following form.

Register now

Explore our research

Dog Cognition Centre

In the Dog Cognition Centre, we're exploring the behaviour and cognitive processes of man's best friend – and studying everything from human-dog communication, to facial expressions in dogs.

Smiling labrador dog
Find out more

Department of Psychology

Explore the Department of Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, and learn more about the teaching and research activities happening within the department.

Female student smiling
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Macaque Project

Researchers in the Department of Psychology are studying macaque cognition and behaviour. Find out more about this research project.

For use on the Macaque Project web page ONLY
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