Sonja Ebel
Guest Researcher
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
Germany
phone: +49 (0) 341 3550 714
e-mail: sonja_ebel@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Research Interests
In my DFG project “Lifespan Psychology in Great Apes: The Development of Tool Use” which is being conducted in collaboration with the University of Leipzig, I am investigating the developmental trajectories of physical cognition in great apes across the lifespan using long-term data from over 20 years of research. My main interest lies in the field of physical cognition, including spatial reasoning and object understanding, tool use and causal understanding, understanding of functions and categories, as well as numerical cognition, and how these abilities develop in great apes throughout their lifespan. I am particularly focused on the development during childhood and adolescence and the development in older age. For example, I am interested in the development of tool use, individual differences in tool use, and the cognitive abilities underlying tool use.
In my work, I also explore the interconnections between different cognitive domains. Another important aspect of my research is the study of species differences and individual differences in cognition. Additionally, I am interested in early childhood development, specific developmental milestones, and the influence of early development on later behavior and cognition. For my research, I use (non-invasive) experimental and observational data from bonobos (Pan paniscus), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), and orangutans (Pongo abelii) collected at the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center at the Leipzig Zoo.
A particular focus of my work is handling and combining large datasets, as well as developing and applying appropriate statistical methods for analyzing structurally diverse datasets. Together with my colleague Dr. Alejandro Sánchez-Amaro, who focuses on social cognition, we are currently compiling a great ape cognition database of all experimental studies conducted at the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center since 2001.
Curriculum Vitae
| 2022 - ongoing | Maternity leave |
| 2021 - ongoing | Postdoctoral Researcher DFG Eigene Stelle “Lifespan Psychology in Great Apes: The Development of Tool Use” University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany & Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany |
| 2020 - 2021 | Postdoctoral Researcher Psychological Methods, Department of Psychology Philipps University of Marburg |
| 2020 | Postdoctoral Researcher Lifespan Psychology, Institute of Psychology I University of Lübeck (temporary position, maternity leave replacement) |
| 2019 - 2020 | Postdoctoral Researcher Project "Evolution of Brain Connectivity" Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology & Department of Primatology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig |
| 2014 - 2019 | Ph.D. Psychology School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews (Scotland) and Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig |
| 2013 | Research Assistant Research Group “Comparative Cognitive Anthropology” Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig |
| 2013 | Student Assistant Research group “Evolutionary Psychology” Freie Universität Berlin |
| 2010 - 2013 | M.Sc. Neurobiology and Behaviour Freie Universität Berlin |
| 2011 - 2012 | Erasmus exchange program M.Sc. Behavioural, Neuro- and Cognitive Biology University of Vienna |
| 2007 - 2010 | B.A. Philosophy, Neurosciences, Cognition Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg |
Publications
* joint first author
Schubotz, R. I., Ebel, S. J., Elsner, B., Weiss, P. H., & Wörgötter, F. (2023). Tool mastering today - an interdisciplinary perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 14: 2228. |
Open AccessManyPrimates, Altschul, D., Bohn, M., Canteloup, C., Ebel, S., Hanus, D., Hernandez-Aguilar, R. A., Joly, M., Keupp, S., Petkov, C., Llorente, M., O'Madagain, C., Proctor, D., Motes-Rodrigo, A., Sutherland, K., Szabelska, A., Taylor, D., Völter, C., & Wiggenhauser, N. G. (2022). Collaboration and open science initiatives in primate research. In B. L. Schwartz, & M. J. Beran ( |
Ebel, S. J., Völter, C. J., & Call, J. (2021). Prior experience mediates the usage of food items as tools in great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and Pongo abelii). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 135(1), 64-73. |
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Kopp, K. S. *., Ebel, S. J. *., Wittig, R. M., Haun, D. B. M., & Crockford, C. (2021). Small mirrors do the trick: A simple, but effective method to study mirror self-recognition in chimpanzees. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 8(3), 391-404. |
Ebel, S. J., Kopp, K. S., & Liebal, K. (2020). Object preferences in captive Sumatran orang-utans (Pongo abelii). Behavioural Processes, 170: 103993. |
Ebel, S. J. (2019). Tool use in great apes and human children: The impact of prior experience and visual feedback. PhD Thesis, University of St Andrews, St Andrews. |
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Ebel, S. J., Hanus, D., & Call, J. (2019). How prior experience and task presentation modulate innovation in 6-year-old-children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 180, 87-103. |
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Ebel, S. J., Schmelz, M., Herrmann, E., & Call, J. (2019). Innovative problem solving in great apes: The role of visual feedback in the floating peanut task. Animal Cognition, 22(5), 791-805. |
Ebel, S. J., & Call, J. (2018). The interplay of prior experience and motivation in great ape problem-solving (Gorilla gorilla, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, and Pongo abelii). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 132(3), 294-305. |
