mariskakret.com 
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Professor at Leiden University
News
Pas op voor de panda’s!
Deze week zijn de twee lang verwachte panda’s dan eindelijk uit China aangekomen in Renen en is in heel Nederland de panda-gekte los gebroken. Iedereen die weleens een panda heeft gezien, in het echt of op TV is aangestoken door deze gekte. Want de pands raakt je in het hart. Lees, kijk en luister hoe dat komt. … Read more »
Trust me: look into my pupils
People often mimic each other’s facial expressions or postures without even knowing it, but in this new study, co-author Carsten de Dreu and I show that they also mimic the size of each other’s pupils, which can lead to increased trust. The findings reveal that participants who mimicked the dilated pupils of a partner were more likely to trust that… Read more »
Update #4 Project Apes and Emotions
PhD student Evy van Berlo every now and then gives an update of all our research activities in Apenheul. Update #4 Tuesday, February 28th 2017 Hey allemaal (For English, scroll down), We zijn weer een tijdje verder en hebben weer wat interessante dingen meegemaakt. Ik hoop dat je deze update leuk zult vinden! Allereerst goed nieuws: we zijn deze… Read more »
Tinder voor orang-oetans? Apen hebben ook zo hun voorkeuren! (also in English)
For English scroll down. Op verschillende media is te lezen over ons onderzoek naar “Tinder voor apen” in samenwerking met Apenheul. Waar komt dit idee vandaan? Wij (hoofdonderzoeker Mariska Kret en PhD student Evy van Berlo) zijn als onderzoekers geïnteresseerd in de evolutie van emoties en empathie in mens en dier. Het onderzoeken van dieren die evolutionair gezien het dichtst… Read more »
Winner of the CoPAN photo competition II
Frans van der Kolff (for English, scroll down) Dit jaar organiseerden we een foto-competitie met als thema ‘de sociale en emotionele orang-oetan’. Het doel van de wedstrijd was om mooie foto’s te verzaemelen die we kunnen gebruiken in onze experimenten met de orangs in de Apenheul. In totaal hebben we 540 foto’s ontvangen. Na lang beraad en stemmen van alle… Read more »
Co-evolution of the social brain and art
In this new research project in close collaboration with prehistoric art expert Larissa Mendoza Straffon, we investigate the putative relationship between the evolution of the social brain and the use of art. I can’t say too much about the hypotheses right now as data collection is still ongoing, but I will keep you posted about our progress. Speaking of data… Read more »
Research grant from Dobberke Foundation for Comparative Psychology
The Dr. J. L. Dobberke Foundation for Comparative Psychology (KNAW) has awarded PhD student Evy van Berlo with a € 2000 grant for her project entitled Emotions and their Perceptions in Orangutans. In her project, Evy aims to gain more insight into the emotional lives of orangutans. The swift recognition of emotional expressions helps us understand each other’s feelings and… Read more »
CoPAN Photo Competition
Theme: the social and emotional orangutan Prize: 200 euro For a new non-invasive experiment I am looking for pictures of orangutans from Apenheul (the Netherlands), Ouwehands Dierenpark (the Netherlands), Kölner Zoo (Germany) and Hamburg Zoo (Germany) taken in 2015 or 2016 showing: Stress, display, yawns, sexual intercourse, grooming, play, scratching or emotional expressions Close-ups of the eye-region showing a… Read more »
Netherlands Society for Behavioural Biology Meeting- Register now!
The 24th NVG meeting will be held from Wednesday November 30st to Friday December 2nd in conference hotel ‘Kontakt der Kontinenten‘ in Soesterberg, TheNetherlands. The meeting starts on Wednesday evening, after the PhD workshop (see below). Highlights of this meeting are the keynote lectures, including the Brill Baerends Lecture*, for which internationally renowned behavioural biologists are invited. This year, the… Read more »
Mariska on Editorial Board PLOS ONE
I am delighted to soon join the Board of PLOS ONE. By joining PLOS ONE as an Academic Editor, I will be supporting the PLOS mission of freely disseminating rigorous scientific research to the public, worldwide. PLOS ONE launched at the end of December 2006 as an efficient and economical venue for disseminating research in all areas of science and… Read more »
Mariska in top 5 of New Scientist competition! Will she make it to number 1?
I am happy to announce that I made it to the top 5 of the New Scientist competition for young, Dutch or Flemish researchers across disciplines. Thank you very much for all your kind support! The winner will be announced during an event on September 22nd during which we will all pitch our research. You are welcome to join this… Read more »
CoPAN welcomes new PhD student Evy van Berlo
Evy will work on the project ‘Unearthing the evolutionary roots of discrimination’, which is co-funded by Leidsch Universitair Fonds, Elise Mathilde Stichting and Koninklijke Nederlandse Academie van Wetenschappen. Project description: Discrimination against social outgroups is a major issue in our society. The social sciences have provided different theories to understand its multifaceted nature, but it remains unclear how discrimination… Read more »
Will Mariska be the New Scientist Wetenschapstalent 2016?
Dat hangt voor 50% af van het aantal mensen dat op mij stemt! Lees hieronder meer over mijn onderzoek in het interview tijdens de voorselectie of bekijk deze video. Op naar de volgende ronde! That depends for 50% on you and on how many votes I receive! Thank you very much for your support. Please vote for me here. … Read more »
Eliska in the news!
Read the interview here.… Read more »
CoPAN welcomes new Clinical Research Assistant Katharina Wehebrink
Katharina will work on the research project ‘Decoupled eye signals: interpersonal trust deficits in mental disorders explained?’ Motivation: In my current position as a clinical research assistant at the Muenster University Hospital, I interact with psychiatric patients on a daily basis. Unfortunately, these conversations can be one-sided, flat and superficial because patients lack trust in others, therefore feel unsafe… Read more »
Summary of Masterclass Connecting minds and sharing emotions through wires and neurons in man and animal
Why do we express emotions? How does our brain process these incoming signals from others and connect them with our own feelings? Are the same processes at stake in other animals, and can we simulate them with artificial intelligence or evoke them through games? On July 5th 2016 the Netherlands Society for Behavioral Biology and the EPOS Graduate Network for… Read more »
François Quesque wins IBRO grant to visit the CoPAN lab
François Quesque (Postdoc at the University of Lille) and I met at the ESCOP conference in Cyprus earlier this year and found out we had many shared research interests. Fortunately, François saw a chance to visit our lab in Leiden early March and gave an inspiring talk entitled ‘Show me how you move, I’ll tell you what you think’. After… Read more »
Our research on the cover of PNAS!
(Klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie) Bonobos – just like humans – give more attention to pictures that show other members of their species displaying emotional behaviour than to neutral scenes. Unlike humans, however, bonobos prefer to look at positive behaviours: social grooming, sex and yawning. This was discovered by the Leiden researcher Dr. Mariska Kret while conducting research… Read more »
Ph.D. Workshop. Connecting minds and sharing emotions through wires and neurons in man and animal
Date: July 5th, from 10.00-18.15 Place: Leiden University, room: bestuurskamer (1st floor of the Pieter de La Court Building, Wassenaarseweg 52, Leiden) For registration or more information: m.e.kret@fsw.leidenuniv.nl Summary Why do we express emotions? How does our brain process these incoming signals from others and connect them with our own feelings? Are the same processes at stake in other… Read more »
Bonobos’ attention attracted by emotions
(Klik hier voor de Nederlandse versie) Bonobos – just like humans – give more attention to pictures that show other members of their species displaying emotional behaviour than to neutral scenes. Unlike humans, however, bonobos prefer to look at positive behaviours: social grooming, sex and yawning. This was discovered by the Leiden researcher Dr. Mariska Kret while conducting research… Read more »
Primatologists in Discussion. The Netherlands meets Japan
On March 8th, CBEN, the Cognition, Behavior & Evolution Network, organizes a discussion evening between primatologists Jan van Hooff and Tetsuro Matsuzawa. The evening starts with a lecture by each of them and is followed by a discussion along different theses that are of interest to a broader audience, such as the following statements: • Insight in the evolution of… Read more »
Mariska joined the board of the Netherlands Society for Behavioural Biology (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Gedragsbiologie-NVG)
Mariska will organize the NVG conference in Soesterberg in November 2016 (23-25 November 2016…save the date!). For more information about the society, click here. This year was the last year she was in the board of de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychonomie-NVP (Psychonomics) as treasurer and conference committee member. She will remain an active member and looks forward to all the… Read more »
Bonobo Project II van start
Het is winter en de Apenheul is gesloten. Goed nieuws, want dat betekent dat we van start kunnen met Bonobo Project II! De resultaten van Bonobo Project I zijn opgeschreven en ingediend bij een wetenschappelijk tijdschrift. Ik zal de bevindingen binnenkort op mijn website zetten. Maar hier eerst een update over waar we nu staan! Jasper Wijnen heeft deze week… Read more »
Winner of the CoPAN photo competition
We hereby would like to announce the winner of the CoPAN photo competition….Hugh Jansman! Winning numbers 2 and 3 are Iris Kronenburg and Joke Kok. We received more than 5000 pictures in total and this made a great contribution to the stimulus material for the bonobo research that will start this winter again in de Apenheul with Master student and… Read more »
Primatologists in discussion. The Netherlands meets Japan.
• Insight in the evolution of human cognition can be obtained through research with apes. • Only humans have emotions. • In Japan, robots have a soul. These and more theses will be discussed by the Japanese and Dutch primatologists Tetsuro Matsuzawa and Jan van Hooff in the special ambience of the Leiden SieboldHuis. The discussion evening welcomes a broad… Read more »
Interview op radio 1
Interview met Felice van Nunspeet en Mariska Kret over het LIBC symposium “De wereld van het Sociale Brein”, over emoties, apen, bankiers en nog veel meer, hier terug te luisteren (en te zien). Lees hier meer over het LIBC publiekssymposium!… Read more »
EASP and KNAW fund my research on clinical applications regarding pupil mimicry
During close interactions, humans look into one another’s eyes, follow gaze, and quickly grasp emotion signals. The eye-catching morphology of human eyes, with unique eye whites, draws attention to the middle part, to the pupils, and their autonomic changes, which signal arousal, cognitive load, and social interest. Recently, an intriguing phenomenon has been discovered: humans tend to synchronize their pupil-size… Read more »
CoPAN Photo Competition
Theme: the social and emotional bonobo Prize: 200 euro For a new non-invasive experiment I am looking for pictures of bonobos from Apenheul (the Netherlands), Kölner Zoo (Germany) and Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) taken in 2014 or 2015 showing: Stress, display, yawns, sexual intercourse, grooming or emotional expressions Close-ups of the eye-region showing a neutral expression The pictures can… Read more »
CoPAN welcomes new PhD student Friederike Behrens!
Friederike will work on the research project “Emotional expressions beyond facial muscle actions.” Project description: Humans are well adapted to quickly recognize and adequately respond to another’s emotions. Different theories propose that mimicry of emotional expressions (facial or otherwise) mechanistically underlies, or at least facilitates, these swift adaptive reactions. When people unconsciously mimic their interaction partner’s expressions of emotion, they… Read more »
Cognition Behavior Evolution Network Conference 9-10 December 2015
CBEN announces her 2nd conference! The conference will be on December 9-10, 2015 at Ghent University (Belgium), and is this time organized by Eveline Seghers and Stefaan Blancke. Key note speaker will be Geoffrey Miller, the evolutionary psychologist who became famous with his book The Mating Mind. More information will be posted soon here. In addition to the CBEN… Read more »
Vacancy for PhD student in Cognitive Neuroscience
Research Project “Emotional expressions beyond facial muscle actions.” Humans are well adapted to quickly recognize and adequately respond to another’s emotions. Different theories propose that mimicry of emotional expressions (facial or otherwise) mechanistically underlies, or at least facilitates, these swift adaptive reactions. When people unconsciously mimic their interaction partner’s expressions of emotion, they come to feel reflections of those companions’… Read more »
NWO talent grant
Project “The Role of Pupil Synchronization in Real Life Interactions: Implications for Trust and Deception”. With Prof. C. de Dreu and RM student Eliska Prochazkova. Awarded four years full-time for a PhD student and €10.000 material costs.… Read more »
Mariska presents her work on the 12th of June at the media-event NWO Bessensap
http://www.nwo.nl/actueel/evenementen/bessensap/bessensap+2015… Read more »
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