Alex Sánchez-Amaro

Alex Sánchez-Amaro is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology. His work focuses on the social cognitive abilities of non-human primates and human infants, particularly in resolving cooperative dilemmas with conflicting interests. Using game-theoretical models like the Snowdrift and Prisoner’s Dilemma, he investigates how primates coordinate actions in conflicting scenarios. He also explores cognitive biases (e.g., sunk-cost effect, decoy effect) in great apes and has collaborated on studies involving marmosets and gibbons. Previously, he held a DFG-funded postdoc position at UC San Diego, studying exploration, risk-taking, and conflict resolution in primates.

Education:

• PhD in Biology (2017), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig
• MSc Primatology (2013), University of Barcelona
• BA (Hons) Biology (2010), University Autònoma of Barcelona

Research Interests: Social decision-making, cognitive bias evolution, biological market theory, and conflict resolution in primates.

Grants & Awards: DFG Fellowship (2019–2020), LaCaixa Fellowship (2013–2015), multiple mobility grants, and a B.A. with Honors.

Teaching: Lectured on non-human primate cooperation at UC San Diego and other institutions.

Labs & Collaborations: Part of the ManyPrimates collaborative network, focusing on comparative primate cognition and open science initiatives.