Esther Herrmann

Dr. Esther Herrmann is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, affiliated with the Faculty of Science and Health and the Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology. She holds a PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, where she later led her own Minerva Research Group. Her work investigates the evolutionary roots of human cooperation and self-regulation through comparative and developmental lenses. Key research focuses include socio-cognitive abilities in humans and non-human primates, cultural influences on social cognition, and cross-cultural studies. Dr. Herrmann has conducted fieldwork in African chimpanzee sanctuaries and collaborates with international teams. She currently supervises PhD students and contributes to interdisciplinary research initiatives like the ManyPrimates collaboration.

Education:

• PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany)
• Postdoctoral roles including coordinator for African chimpanzee sanctuary research

Research Interests:

• Evolutionary origins of human cooperation
• Cognitive comparisons between humans and great apes
• Developmental and cultural factors in social cognition
• Risk assessment and decision-making in non-human primates

Publications: Over 70 peer-reviewed articles (e.g., in Nature Communications, Proceedings of the Royal Society B) exploring topics like primate reasoning, prosocial behavior, and cross-species comparative cognition. Labs/Teams: Leads the Human Origins of Self-Regulation research group and contributes to the Centre for Interaction, Development and Diversity at Portsmouth.