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Alejandro (Alex) Sánchez-Amaro

Guest

Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig

phone: +49 (0) 341 3550 425
e-mail: alex_sanchez@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de

personal website  

Research Interests
Curriculum Vitae
Publications

Thesis title: Coordination in conflict situations: A comparative investigation of the coordination strategies that children, chimpanzees and bonobos use to solve situations of conflict

Research Interests

  • social decision-making for cooperation and conflict resolution
  • evolution of cognitive biases
  • risk and uncertainty
  • biological market theory

Curriculum Vitae

Career & Education 

2021 - present

 

Postdoctoral Researcher
Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

2018 - 2020

 

Postdoctoral Researcher (DFG Fellowship 2019-2020)
Department of Cognitive Science
University of California San Diego, USA

2013 - 2017


 

Dr. rer. Nat. Biology
Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
Advisors: Michael Tomasello & Josep Call

2011 - 2013
 

MSc Primatology
University of Barcelona, Spain

2006 - 2010
 

BA (Hons) Biology
University Autònoma of Barcelona, Spain

Teaching
2020    
  

Cooperation and conflicts of interest in non-human primates
Seminar at the University of Girona, Spain

2018
 
COGS 144: Social Cognition: A developmental and evolutionary perspective
Temporary lecturer at the University of California San Diego, USA
 
2016

 
Cooperation in non-human great apes
Seminar at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany
 
Academic Talks
2019


    

How harshness and unpredictability of resources affect chimpanzees
decision-making strategies
School of Psychology and Neuroscience
University of St. Andrews, UK

2018

 
Sunk Cost Effect
Department of Cognitive Science
Central European University, Budapest, Hungary
 
2017

 
Coordination in Conflict Situations
Cognitive Science Department
University of California, San Diego, USA
 
2017

 
Coordination in Conflict Situations
Department of Anthropology
University of Zurich, Switzerland
 
2017

 
Coordination in Conflict Situations
MPI CEU Symposium
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
 
Conference Talks and Posters

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Tan, J., Kaufhold, S., & Rossano, F. “Gibbons exploit information about what a competitor can see". Poster presented at the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Conference, Konstanz, Germany 2019

Sánchez-Amaro, A., & Rossano, F. “Exploration biases in Great Apes”. Oral presentation presented at the PDA Postdoctoral Symposium UCSD, San Diego, USA 2018, 3rd price talk

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. “Chimpanzees leverage understanding”. Oral presentation presented at the XXVII International Primatological Conference, Nairobi, Kenya 2018

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. “Decoy Effect in great apes (Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla and Pongo abelii)”. Poster presented at the XXVII International Primatological Conference, Nairobi, Kenya 2018

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. ”Chimpanzees and children coordination in a Prisoner´s Dilemma”. Oral presentation presented at the VI Iberian Primatological Conference, Burgos, Spain 2017, 3rd price talk

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. “Chimpanzees and children coordinate in a Prisoner´s Dilemma”. Oral presentation presented at the XXXIV Behaviour Conference, Estoril, Portugal 2017

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. "Coordination despite conflict in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus) and children". Oral presentation presented at the XXVI International Primatological Conference, Chicago, USA 2016

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. "Strategic decision-making by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus) and children in a Snowdrift-Game task". Poster presented at the IV Chimpanzees in Context Simposium, Chicago, USA 2016

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. "Coordination under conflict in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), bonobos (Pan paniscus) and children". Poster presented at the VIII Conference on Cognitive Science, Dubrovnik, Croatia 2016

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Peretó, M. & Call, J. "Difference in between-reinforcer value modulate the selective value effect in Great Apes". Oral presentation presented at the XXXIII Behaviour Conference, Cairns, Australia 2015

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. "Chimpanzees and children strategic decision-making in Snowdrift Games". Poster presented at the XXXIII Behaviour Conference, Cairns, Australia 2015

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. "Strategic decision-making by chimpanzees and children in a Snowdrift Game". Oral presentation presented at the VI European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association Conference, Helsinki, Finland 2015

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. "Strategic decision-making by chimpanzees in a Snowdrift Game". Oral presentation presented at the II European Student Conference on Behaviour and Cognition, Zurich, Switzerland 2015

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Peretó, M. & Call, J. “Natural Choices of Food in Great Apes". Oral presentation presented at the XIV Gesellschaft für Primatologie Conference, Leipzig, Germany 2015

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Peretó, M. & Call, J. "Natural Choices of Food in Great Apes". Poster presented at the XXV International Primatological, Hanoi, Vietnam 2014

Sánchez-Amaro, A., Peretó, M. & Call, J. "Natural Choices of Food in Chimpanzees and Orangutans". Oral presentation presented at the IV Iberian Primatological Conference. Girona, Spain 2013

Research Awards & Funding
2021 - 2022

Forschungskredit project grant (rejected after being awarded)                                          

2019 - 2020
 
DFG Postdoctoral Fellowship SA 3716/1-1
 
2016
 
DAAD mobility Fellowship
 
2013 - 2015
 
LaCaixa Fellowship
 
2010, 2012
 
AGAUR Mobility Fellowship, Generalitat de Catalunya
 
2010
 
B.A. with Honors in Biology, Award
 
Languages
  • Spanish, Catalan (native)
  • English (fluent)
  • German (basic)

Publications

Kaufhold, S. P., Sánchez Amaro, A., Tan, J., Fernandez-Navarro, S., Atencia, R., & Rossano, F. (2024). Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) strategically manipulate their environment to deny conspecifics access to food. Scientific Reports, 14: 17579.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Eirdosh, D., & Haun, D. (2024). Studying Great Apes and Cultural Diversity To Understand the Human Mind. Frontiers for Young Minds, 12: 1337514.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Stengelin, R., Bohn, M., Sánchez Amaro, A., Haun, D. B. M., Thiele, M., Daum, M. M., Felsche, E., Fong, F. T. K., Gampe, A., Giner Torréns, M., Grueneisen, S., Hardecker, D. J. K., Horn, L., Neldner, K., Pope-Caldwell, S. M., & Schuhmacher, N. (2024). Responsible research is also concerned with generalizability: Recognizing efforts to reflect upon and increase generalizability in hiring and promotion decisions in psychology. Meta-Psychology, 8.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Maurits, L., & Haun, D. B. M. (2024). Chimpanzees engage in competitive altruism in a triadic ultimatum game. Scientific Reports, 14: 3393.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Ebel, S. J., Völter, C. J., Sánchez Amaro, A., Helming, K. A., Herrmann, E., & Call, J. (2024). Functional fixedness in chimpanzees. Scientific Reports, 14: 12155.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., & Rossano, F. (2023). Comparative curiosity: How do great apes and children deal with uncertainty? PLoS One, 18: e0285946.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

ManyPrimates, Aguenounon, G., Allritz, M., Altschul, D., Ballesta, S., Beaud, A., Bohn, M., Bornbusch, S., Brandão, A., Brooks, J., Bugnyar, T., Burkart, J., Bustamante, L., Call, J., Canteloup, C., Cao, C., Caspar, K., da Silva, D., de Sousa, A., DeTroy, S., Duguid, S., Eppley, T., Fichtel, C., Fischer, J., Gong, C., Grange, J., Grebe, N., Hanus, D., Haun, D., Haux, L., Héjja-Brichard, Y., Helman, A., Hernadi, I., Hernandez-Aguilar, R. A., Herrmann, E., Hopper, L., Howard, L., Huang, L., Huskisson, S., Jacobs, I., Jin, Z., Joly, M., Kano, F., Keupp, S., Kiefer, E., Knakker, B., Kóczán, K., Kraus, L., Kwok, S. C., Lefrançois, M., Lewis, L., Liu, S., Llorente, M., Lonsdorf, E., Loyant, L., Majecka, K., Maurits, L., Meunier, H., Mobili, F., Morino, L., Motes-Rodrigo, A., Nijman, V., Ihomi, C., Persson, T., Pietraszewski, D., Reátiga Parrish, J., Roig, A., Sánchez Amaro, A., Sato, Y., Sauciuc, G.-A., Schrock, A., Schweinfurth, M., Seed, A., Shearer, C., Šlipogor, V., Su, Y., Sutherland, K., Tan, J., Taylor, D., Troisi, C., Völter, C., Warren, E., Watzek, J., & Zablocki-Thomas, P. (2022). The Evolution of primate short-term memory. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 9(4), 428-516.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., & Rossano, F. (2021). Chimpanzees and bonobos use social leverage in an ultimatum game. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1962): 20211937.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Tan, J., Kaufhold, S. P., Fernández-Navarro, S., & Rossano, F. (2021). How environmental unpredictability and harshness affect chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in risk-choice and temporal discounting tasks. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 135(2), 232-243.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Burkart, J., & Rossano, F. (2021). Marmoset Monkeys overcome dyadic social dilemmas while avoiding mutual defection. Animal Behaviour, 173, 93-104.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Ball, R., & Rossano, F. (2021). Gibbon strategies in a food competition task. Scientific Reports, 11: 9312.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2020). Do 7-year-old children understand social leverage? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 199: 104963.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Tan, J., Kaufhold, S. P., & Rossano, F. (2020). Gibbons exploit information about what a competitor can see. Animal Cognition, 23, 289-299.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

ManyPrimates, Altschul, D. M., Beran, M. J., Bohn, M., Call, J., DeTroy, S., Duguid, S. J., Egelkamp, C. L., Fichtel, C., Fischer, J., Flessert, M., Hanus, D., Haun, D. B. M., Haux, L. M., Hernandez-Aguilar, R. A., Herrmann, E., Hopper, L. M., Joly, M., Kano, F., Keupp, S., Melis, A. P., Motes Rodrigo, A., Ross, S. R., Sánchez Amaro, A., Sato, Y., Schmitt, V., Schweinfurth, M. K., Seed, A. M., Taylor, D., Völter, C. J., Warren, E., & Watzek, J. (2019). Establishing an infrastructure for collaboration in primate cognition research. PLoS One, 14(10): e0223675.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Altınok, N., Heintz, C., & Call, J. (2019). Disentangling great apes' decoy-effect bias in a food choice task. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 6, 213-222.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Amici, F., Sánchez Amaro, A., Sebastián-Enesco, C., Allritz, M., Cachhione, T., Salazar-Bonet, J., & Rossano, F. (2019). The word order of languages predicts native speakers’ working memory. Scientific Reports, 9: 1124.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

ManyPrimates, Altschul, D. M., Beran, M. J., Bohn, M., Caspar, K. R., Fichtel, C., Försterling, M., Grebe, N. M., Hernandez-Aguilar, R. A., Kwok, S. C., LLorente, M., Motes Rodrigo, A., Proctor, D., Sánchez Amaro, A., Simpson, E. A., Szabelska, A., Taylor, D., van der Mescht, J., Völter, C. J., & Watzek, J. (2019). Collaborative open science as a way to reproducibility and new insights in primate cognition research. Japanese Psychological Review, 62(103), 205-220.
BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2019). Chimpanzees and children avoid mutual defection in a social dilemma. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40(1), 46-54.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2018). Chimpanzees’ understanding of social leverage. PLoS One, 13(12): e0207868.
Open Access    DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sanchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2017). Chimpanzees, bonobos and children successfully coordinate in conflict situations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1856): 20170259.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A. (2017). Coordination in conflict situations: A comparative investigation of the coordination strategies that children, chimpanzees and bonobos use to solve situations of conflict. PhD Thesis, Universität, Leipzig.
Open Access    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sanchez-Amaro, A., & Amici, F. (2016). Markets carefully interpreted: A reply to Kaburu and Newton-Fisher (2016). Animal Behaviour, 119, e7-e13.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sanchez-Amaro, A., Duguid, S., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2016). Chimpanzees coordinate in a snowdrift game. Animal Behaviour, 116, 61-74.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sanchez-Amaro, A., Pereto, M., & Call, J. (2016). Differences in between-reinforcer value modulate the selective-value effect in great apes (Pan Troglodyes, P. Paniscus, Gorilla Gorilla, Pongo Abelii). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 130(1), 1-12.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Sánchez Amaro, A., & Amici, F. (2015). Are primates out of the market? Animal Behaviour, 110, 51-60.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote   

Amici, F., Aureli, F., Mundry, R., Sanchez-Amaro, A., Barroso, A. M., Ferretti, J., & Call, J. (2014). Calculated reciprocity? A comparative test with six primate species. Primates, 55(3), 447-457.
DOI    BibTeX   Endnote