My research interests lie in animal cognition and emotion. I am particularly interested in using cognitive measures from human research to assess emotional states and welfare in non-human primates. My recent research has focused on behavioural laterality (eye preferences) as a potential measure of emotional responses in tufted capuchin monkeys. I am currently investigating facial discrimination and attentional bias towards emotional faces in chimpanzees using touch screen experiments.
After graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Hull (UK), I worked as a Research Assistant in Psychology at Flinders University (Australia), and an Assistant Language Teacher on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. I returned to the UK to study for an MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare at the University of Edinburgh, where I developed an interest in non-human primate welfare. This led to a position as a PhD candidate at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, where I am investigating attentional bias and emotion in humans and chimpanzees using touch screen experiments.
Wilson, D. A., Tomonaga, M. (2018). Visual discrimination of primate species based on faces in chimpanzees. Primates. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-0649-8
Wilson, D. A., Tomonaga, M., Vick, S-J. (2016). Eye preferences in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella). Primates, 57, 3, 433-440. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-016-0537-z
Tlauka, M., Donaldson, P., Wilson, D. (2008). Forgetting in spatial memories acquired in a virtual environment. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22, 1, 69-84. DOI: 10.1002/acp.1341
Wilson, P. N., Wilson, D. A., Griffiths, L., Fox, S. (2007). First-perspective spatial alignment effects from real-world exploration. Memory & Cognition, 35, 1432-1444. DOI: 10.3758/BF03193613
Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture, 484-8506, Japan