Funded by: MIUR - Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca (PRIN 2022, grant number 2022ZZAZKW) 

Partners: Università degli Studi di Torino, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Description: The general aim of the project is to contribute to understanding the complexity of the human mind in relation to nonverbal empathic processes. To develop shared measures of non-verbal intersubjectivity (a building block of empathy) in the absence of cultural biases we adopt a comparative approach and include in our study human toddlers and capuchin monkeys. Both primate species are excellent models as they score high in cooperative and cognitive tasks. The subjects will be observed and tested for attention and for emotional responses to touch stimulation via experimental trials and video-audio analyses. It is expected that subjects will show a) different facial displays and vocalisations in response to familiar/unfamiliar tactile stimuli, conveying primary positive/negative emotions (e.g., scream vs. laughter) and b) different attention patterns in response to familiar/unfamiliar visual stimuli. The results of this project will contribute to our understanding of the evolution and development of empathic processes in human and nonhuman primates.