Alyssa Arre

What makes human cognition unique? This is the big picture question that I seek to investigate in my research, which I conduct with a population of free-living rhesus monkeys at the Cayo Santiago Biological Field Station in Punta Santiago, Humacao, Puerto Rico. By showing monkeys a variety of experiments that include photos, magic shows, and social cues, and recording how they react, we can begin to understand how primates understand their social world, and how that is similar to or different from how humans interact with others. In my research specifically, I hope to better understand how monkeys learn from other individuals in a social context, and what features of other individuals (like age and sex) they track in social interactions. Outside of research, I am involved in the community of Punta Santiago through the charity that I co-founded with other graduate students working at the field station. Our charity, Punta Santiago Dogs (501c3), seeks to help care and find homes for the many stray dogs in the greater Humacao area.