Sasha Winkler, PhD

My new paper, "Bonobos tend to behave optimistically after hearing laughter” is out! We found that bonobos were more likely to expect rewards after hearing same-species laughter, suggesting that the sound puts them in a good mood. nature.com/articles/s4159…

Great apes may use playful teasing to learn about their social relationships. In a new paper, Erica Cartmill & I propose a bond-testing hypothesis for ape teasing. Out today in Phil Trans Biology: royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article/3…

#Hearing #Laughter increases optimism in bonobos, indicating that positive vocalizations can influence emotional states and decision-making in great apes, with evolutionary links to human laughter. @SciReports doi.org/g9rhrn phys.org/news/2025-06-a…

Some exciting news - I’m joining @HermanPontzer ‘s lab at @DukeU as a postdoc! I’ll be researching energetics in baboons, collaborating with folks at the Amboseli Baboon Project 😊@AmboseliBaboons @ArchieLab

The COMPARE lab at @IndianaUniv is hiring a new full-time lab manager to assist studies with children and dogs, and manage the activities of the lab space on IU Bloomington campus. Please share! hrms.iu.edu/psp/PH1PRD_PUB…

The loss of a legend- Kanzi, the language-competent bonobo, has died age 44. Kanzi was exceptional in so many ways and offered us profound insights into the linguistic & cognitive capacities of great apes. He has taught us so much and will be hugely missed. @ApeInitiative

The JHU Social & Cognitive Origins lab has a new opening for a full-time position - a great opportunity to work with an all-star team of animal cognition researchers!

The Kalahari Research Centre (Northern Cape, South Africa) is hosting a FULLY FUNDED course on animal behaviour and communication! Check out the flyers below and find out more on their website - exc.uni-konstanz.de/cbfc/applicati… #kalahariresearchcentre #africanbioacoustics #fieldcourse

Toddlers Learn Best After Experiencing Impossible Events Children as young as two understand differences between improbable and impossible events, a new study reveals. Researchers found that toddlers learned significantly better after witnessing an impossible event rather than an improbable one, highlighting the unique impact of unexpected experiences. The study involved two- and three-year-olds interacting with a toy machine rigged to occasionally deliver an impossible result. Children who received an impossible outcome—like a pink toy from a machine filled only with purple ones—showed better learning retention than those who experienced merely improbable outcomes. Researchers believe the impossible events prompted the children to seek explanations, sparking a strong drive for learning. These findings may influence new strategies in early education by creating “mystery” moments that enhance learning.

Not to sound cheesy, but DISI was life-changing for me—and a lot of fun. Can’t think of a better way to spend three weeks of your summer, so.. consider this call if this calls to you!

Are humans the only species that communicates when a collaborator is missing information? @TownrowLuke and I show that our closest relatives, bonobos, can track when a partner is knowledgeable or ignorant, and tailor communication accordingly @PNASNews pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

New @sciam article by my PhD advisor Erica Cartmill does a fantastic job summarizing our lab's research on playful teasing in great apes! I bet you'll be ape-solutley tickled to read it (ok sorry I had to): scientificamerican.com/article/great-… #primates #animals #humor #science #bioanthro

The Datasaurus Dozen is a collection of thirteen datasets that, despite having nearly identical summary statistics—such as mean, variance, and correlation—exhibit vastly different distributions when visualized. This underscores the critical importance of graphing data to uncover underlying patterns that summary statistics alone may obscure. #Statistics #DataScience #Research #Science

Exciting new animal cognition lab just dropped 😎- congrats Amalia!!

I have a really exciting PhD opportunity on a highly novel topic: flow state in animals! This is open to students worldwide, drawing on the University of Bristol's strengths in animal cognition, animal welfare and human game design lnkd.in/eJZ4U3jt

🚨Do Rodents Smell with Sound?🚨 Ultrasonic vocalisations may cluster oderants & when this is coordinated with sniffing, it may enhance olfactory sensing. So cool! 🐀👃👂sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

@c00l_mom Huge claim

My @TED_ED video on the science of laughter just passed 1 MILLION views! 😱 If you haven't seen it yet and want to know more about why humans laugh, check it out here: t.ted.com/l7GtVov (& shout out to @rybak_hanna for the awesome animation!)

Raise your hand if you got overly invested with the absolute DRAMA of #FatBearWeek this year 🙋‍♀️

PhD Studentship available I am looking for a student to study the 'Quality and function of affiliative actions in non-human primates' - if you are interested in primate sociality, communication, and relationships, get in touch! findaphd.com/phds/project/q…