Laurent Prétôt

Dr. Laurent Prétôt is an Associate Professor of Experimental Psychology at Pittsburg State University, Kansas, affiliated with the College of Education's Psychology & Counseling department. He teaches undergraduate and graduate psychology courses and mentors K-INBRE students. His research focuses on the interplay between ecology, cognition, and decision-making across species (fish, birds, primates) using cross-taxon and developmental approaches.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Georgia State University (Cognitive Sciences)
  • M.S. & B.S., University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Key research interests include:

• Cross-taxon comparative methods (e.g., ephemeral-permanent foraging tasks)
• Decision-making in social dilemmas (e.g., in-group/out-group dynamics in children)
• Ecological cognition frameworks applied to animal and human behavior

Affiliated with SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium (fish cognition) and Nature Reach (avian cognition). Previous roles include SNSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Boston College’s Cooperation Lab and SNSF Doctoral Fellow at Georgia State’s CEBUS Lab.

Publications span topics like primate decision-making complexity, cleaner fish punishment behaviors, and children’s cooperative strategies. Active in labs like the CEBUS Lab and Cooperation Lab, emphasizing interdisciplinary and large-scale collaborative research.