Elisa Felsche

Elisa Felsche is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of St Andrews (2020), with a thesis on hierarchical Bayesian modeling of imitation and abstraction. Her career includes postdoctoral roles at the University of Michigan and research assistantships at the University of St Andrews. Her research focuses on understanding how humans and primates learn efficiently, particularly in abstract reasoning and cross-species comparisons. She has conducted fieldwork in African sanctuaries and zoos, studying chimpanzee cognition and child development.

• Education:
• PhD in Psychology, University of St Andrews (2016-2020)
• M.Sc. Cognitive-Affective Neuroscience, Dresden University of Technology (2014-2016)
• B.Sc. Psychology, Dresden University of Technology (2011-2014)
• Research Interests: Evolution of cognition, comparative psychology, computational modeling, and cross-cultural studies.
• Experience:
• 2021: Cross-cultural research in Congo with BaYaka foragers and Bandongo farmers.
• 2019-2018: Studies on chimpanzee cognition in Uganda, Kenya, and Germany.