Person
tomas.perssonlucs.luse |
2023-01-13
Reader, Senior Lecturer
- Cognitive Science
- Department of Philosophy
Deputy Head of Department
- Department of Philosophy
Contact information
E-mail tomas.perssonlucs.luse
Phone +46 46 222 01 13
Room LUX:B537
Visiting address
Helgonavägen 3, Lund
Postal address
Box 192, 221 00 Lund
Internal post code 30
Associate professor in cognitive science and Scientific director at Lund University Primate Research Station Furuvik where we study cognition in chimpanzees and Sumatran orangutans.
Besides a general interest in human evolution and primate behaviour the work is focused on questions regarding great apes' capacities for representation. This has been addressed in studies of e.g. gorillas' and bonobos' understanding of pictures, and currently in various new projects. See below.
I teach on the courses Animal Cognition and Theories and Models in Cognitive Science.
Research
My profile in Lund University research portal
- Remote eye-tracking with chimpanzees and orang-utans (research leader)
- Infrastructure consolidation for remote eye-tracking with great an lesser apes at Lund University Primate Research Station Furuvik (research leader)
- Music Perception: Investigating musical meter processing with pupillometry (research leader)
- The development of social-cognitive abilities in a Sumatran orangutan infant
- Storytelling in Rock Art
- Centre for Cognitive Semiotics (RJ)
- Phylogenetic reconstruction of the human skill to imagine (research leader)
- Precursors of Sign Use in Intersubjectivity and Imitation (PSUII)
- Social bonding as a facilitator of intra- and cross-species imitation
- Can great apes imagine cocktails?
- The evolution of musicality: synchronisation behaviours and rhythm perception in chimpanzees (research leader)
- Development of permanent infrastructure for research and education on great ape cognition at Lund University Primate Research Station Furuvik (research leader)
- Development of touchscreen interface for cognitive testing of primates (research leader)
- Eye-tracking with great apes
Books (1)
Editorships (1)
Articles (26)
- Jacobs, I., Persson, T., Sauciuc, G.-A. & Zablocki-Thomas, P. (2022). The evolution of primate short-term memory. Animal behavior and cognition, 9, 428-516.
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Persson, T. & Madsen, E. (2022). The Natural History of Musical Rhythm : Functional and Mechanistic Theories on the Evolution of Human Rhythm Cognition and the Relevance of Rhythmic Animal Behaviors. Comparative Cognition and Behavior Reviews, 17, 33-87. Comparative Cognition Society.
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Luna Martinez, A., Wester, A., Hellgren, T. & Persson, T. (2021). Maternal behaviors that mediate skill development in Sumatran orangutans. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 43, 1187-1193.
- Skoglund, P., Ranta, M., Persson, T. & Cabak Rédei, A. (2021). Narrative Aspects of Images of Spear Use in Scandinavian Rock Carvings. European Journal of Archaeology. Cambridge University Press.
- Cabak Rédei, A., Skoglund, P. & Persson, T. (2020). Seeing different motifs in one picture : Identifying ambiguous figures in South Scandinavian Bronze Age rock art. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 7. Taylor & Francis.
- Lenninger, S., Persson, T., van de Weijer, J. & Sonesson, G. (2020). Mirror, peephole and video - The role of contiguity in children's perception of reference in iconic signs. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. Frontiers Media S. A..
- Ranta, M., Skoglund, P., Persson, T. & Gjerde, J. M. (2020). Hunting stories in Scandinavian rock art : Aspects of "tellability" in the North vs. the South. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 39, 228-246. Wiley-Blackwell.
- Sauciuc, G.-A. & Persson, T. (2020). Chimpanzees predict the hedonic outcome of novel taste combinations : The evolutionary origins of affective forecasting. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. Frontiers Media S. A..
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Zlakowska, J., Persson, T., Lenninger, S. & Madsen, E. (2020). Imitation recognition and its prosocial effects in 6-month old infants. PLoS ONE, 15. Public Library of Science (PLoS).
- Skoglund, P., Persson, T. & Cabak Rédei, A. (2020). A Multisensory Approach to Rock Art : Exploring Tactile and Visual Dimensions in the Southern Scandinavian Rock Art Tradition. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 86, 95-110. Prehistoric Society.
- Cabak Rédei, A., Skoglund, P. & Persson, T. (2019). Applying cartosemiotics to rock art : an example from Aspeberget, Sweden. Social Semiotics, 29, 543-556. Taylor & Francis.
- Ranta, M., Skoglund, P., Cabak Rédei, A. & Persson, T. (2019). Levels of Narrativity in Scandinavian Bronze Age Petroglyphs. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 29, 497-516. Cambridge University Press.
- Anikin, A., Persson, T. & Arnling Bååth, R. (2018). Human Non-linguistic Vocal Repertoire : Call Types and Their Meaning. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 42, 53-80. Springer.
- Persson, T., Sauciuc, G.-A. & Madsen, E. (2018). Spontaneous cross-species imitation in interaction between chimpanzees and zoo visitors. Primates, 59, 19-29. Springer.
- Anikin, A. & Persson, T. (2017). Nonlinguistic vocalizations from online amateur videos for emotion research : A validated corpus. Behavior Research Methods, 49, 758-771. Springer.
- Lind, J., Lönnberg, S., Persson, T. & Enquist, M. (2017). Time does not help orangutans Pongo abelii solve physical problems. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. Frontiers Media S. A..
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Persson, T., Bååth, R., Bobrowicz, K. & Osvath, M. (2016). Affective forecasting in an orangutan : predicting the hedonic outcome of novel juice mixes. Animal Cognition, 19, 1081-1092. Springer.
- Osvath, M. & Persson, T. (2015). What’s in a name? Commentary: A crisis in comparative psychology: Where have all the undergraduates gone. Frontiers in Psychology, 6. Frontiers Media S. A..
- Madsen, E. & Persson, T. (2013). Contagious yawning in domestic dog puppies (Canis lupus familiaris): The effect of ontogeny and emotional closeness on low-level imitation in dogs. Animal Cognition, 16, 233-240. Springer.
- Madsen, E., Persson, T., Sayehli, S., Lenninger, S. & Sonesson, G. (2013). Chimpanzees show a developmental increase in susceptibility to contagious yawning: A test of the effect of ontogeny and emotional closeness on yawn contagion. PLoS ONE, 8. Public Library of Science (PLoS).
- Osvath, M. & Persson, T. (2013). Great apes can defer exchange: a replication with different results suggesting future oriented behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 4. Frontiers Media S. A..
- Thunström, M., Persson, T. & Björklund, M. (2013). Integration of a hand-reared chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) infant into a social group of conspecifics. Primates, 54, 13-19. Springer.
- Zlatev, J., Madsen, E., Lenninger, S., Persson, T., Sayehli, S., van de Weijer, J. & Sonesson, G. (2013). Understanding communicative intentions and semiotic vehicles by children and chimpanzees. Cognitive Development, 28, 312-329. Elsevier.
- Osvath, M., Persson, T. & Gärdenfors, P. (2012). Foresight, function representation, and social intelligence in great apes (Commentary on K. Vaesen “The cognitive basis of human tool use”). Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35, 234-235. Cambridge University Press.
- Zlatev, J., Persson, T. & Gärdenfors, P. (2005). Bodily mimesisas “the missing link” in human cognitive evolution. LUCS: Lund University Cognitive Studies, 121. Lund University Cognitive Studies.
- Zlatev, J., Persson, T. & Gärdenfors, P. (2005). Triadic bodily mimesis is the difference. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28, 720-720. Cambridge University Press.
Book chapters (4)
- Persson, T. (2018). Animal cognition : Explaining cognitive evolution by way of experimental psychology – At all possible?. In Brozek, B., Kwiatek, L. & Stelmach, J. (Eds.) Explaining the Mind. Copernicus Center Press.
- Persson, T. & Lindblom, J. (2012). Djurkognition. In Allwood, J. & Jensen, M. (Eds.) Kognitionsvetenskap (pp. 325-336). Studentlitteratur AB.
- Persson, T. (2009). Tests of true pictorial competence in chimpanzees: The case of drawings. In Zlatev, J. & Andrén, M. (Eds.) Studies in Language and Cognition. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
- Persson, T. (2008). Primates, a cog in cognitive science. In Gärdenfors, P. & Wallin, A. (Eds.) A Smorgasbord of Cognitive Science. Bokförlaget Nya Doxa.
Conference contributions (29)
- Sauciuc, G.-A. & Persson, T. (2022). Where does human cooperation come from? : The evolutionary origins of the ability to infer shared goals and motivations.
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Zlakowska, J., Klang, K. J., Wester, A., Persson, T. & Madsen, E. A. (2021). Rhythmic behaviors in chimpanzees : Range, functional contexts, sex differences and emotional correlates.
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Klang, K. J., Zlakowska, J. & Persson, T. (2019). Social antecedents of rhythmic behaviours in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Folia Primatologica, 91, 290-291. Karger.
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Zlakowska, J., Klang, K. J. & Persson, T. (2019). Flexibility and context specificity of communicative rhythmic behaviours in chimpanzees.
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Zlakowska, J., Klang, K. J., Bååth, R. & Persson, T. (2019). Social antecedents and consequences of rhythmic behaviours in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
- Persson, T. (2017). Imitation as a non-learning phenomenon.
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Persson, T. & Madsen, E. (2017). The social side of imitation in human evolution and development : Shared intentionality and imitation games in chimpanzees and 6-month old infants. In Arweström Jansson, A., Axelsson, A., Andreasson, R. & Billing, E. (Eds.) Skövde University Studies in Informatics, Proceedings of the 13th SweCog Conference (pp. 21-23), 2017. University of Skövde.
- Persson, T. (2014). Are you indicating (for me)? The role of stimulus relations in pointing behaviours.
- Persson, T. (2014). How do great apes explain their world, and how do we explain them?.
- Persson, T. (2014). What we must do in order to test pictorial competence in animals.
- Osvath, M., Sauciuc, G.-A., Balkenius, C. & Persson, T. (2013). Gustatory imagination in an orangutan.
- Sonesson, G., Lenninger, S., Persson, T. & van de Weijer, J. (2013). The mirror image, the video clip, and the real world.
- Persson, T. (2012). What we must do in order to test pictorial competence in animals.
- Zlatev, J., Lenninger, S., Madsen, E., Persson, T., Sayehli, S. & Sonesson, G. (2012). Understanding Communicative Signs by Children and Chimpanzees.
- Madsen, E., Zlatev, J., Persson, T., Lenninger, S., Sayehli, S. & Sonesson, G. (2011). A Developmental Increase in Susceptibility to Contagious Yawning in Chimpanzees: An Expression of Empathy?.
- Thunström, M., Persson, T. & Björklund, M. (2011). Integration of a Hand-Reared Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) Infant into a Social Group of Conspecifics.
- Zlatev, J., Lenninger, S., Sayehli, S., Madsen, E., Sonesson, G. & Persson, T. (2011). Understanding Communicative Signs by Children and Chimpanzees.
- Zlatev, J., Sonesson, G., Persson, T., Lenninger, S., Sayehli, S. & Madsen, E. (2011). Intersubjectivity and Sign Use in Children and Chimpanzees.
- Osvath, M. & Persson, T. (2010). Chimpanzees and Orangutans Plan for Future Exchange.
- Osvath, M. & Persson, T. (2010). Lund University Primate Research Station.
- Persson, T. (2010). Is Cognitive Research Enrichment for Apes? Can Cognitive Research Add to Ape Wellfare?.
- Persson, T. (2010). Testing Pictorial Competence in Great Apes.
- Persson, T. (2010). Testing Pictorial Competence in Nonhuman Primates.
- Persson, T. (2007). How can Pictorial Competence in Great Apes be Tested?.
- Persson, T. (2007). Tests of Pictorial Competence in Great Apes.
- Persson, T. (2006). Is Referential Understanding of Pictures in Non-enculturated Great Apes Possible?.
- Persson, T. (2005). Teaching Matching to Naïve Gorillas.
- Zlatev, J., Persson, T. & Gärdenfors, P. (2004). Can Mimesis Provide the Missing Link to Language?.
- Zlatev, J. & Persson, T. (2003). Can Mimesis Provide the Missing Link to Language?.
Working papers (1)
Reviews (1)
Articles in specialist publications and popular press (5)
- Persson, T., Ranta, M. & Skoglund, P. (2021). Vilka historier kan hällristningar berätta?. Populär Arkeologi, 16-19. Anders Ljungberg.
- Sauciuc, G.-A. & Persson, T. (2018). Chimpanzees like to copy human visitors to the zoo - Ig Nobel prize. The Conversation.
- Sauciuc, G.-A., Persson, T. & Osvath, M. (2016). Ape abilities. Pan European networks. Government, 143-145. Paneuropean Networks.
- Persson, T. (2013). Se människan!. Axess. Axess Publishing AB.
- Persson, T. & Gärdenfors, P. (2008). Varför har vi så stora ögonvitor?. Forskning & framsteg. Stiftelsen Forskning & Framsteg.
Newspaper articles (5)
- Persson, T. (2011). Do animals have imagination? Using pictures to study the representational abilities of great apes. The Irish Times.
- Persson, T. (2011). Do animals have imagination? Using pictures to study the representational abilities of great apes. El Pais.
- Persson, T. (2011). Do animals have imagination? Using pictures to study the representational abilities of great apes. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
- Persson, T. (2007). Doktor Dolittles återkomst. Svenska Dagbladet. Svenska Dagbladet.
- Persson, T. (2004). Människan bäst i världen på att apa efter. Svenska Dagbladet. Svenska Dagbladet.
Miscellaneous (1)
Supervision at Lund University (1)
Reader, Senior Lecturer
- Cognitive Science
- Department of Philosophy
Deputy Head of Department
- Department of Philosophy
Contact information
E-mail tomas.perssonlucs.luse
Phone +46 46 222 01 13
Room LUX:B537
Visiting address
Helgonavägen 3, Lund
Postal address
Box 192, 221 00 Lund
Internal post code 30