PhD Candidate · Philosophy · Purdue University
Gavin
Robert
Foster
I work on the evolution and development of social cognition: how humans and other animals come to represent mental states and engage in social learning. My research spans philosophy of mind and cognitive science, comparative and developmental psychology, and Kant's theoretical philosophy.
Affiliate, Social and Cognitive Origins Group
Department of Psychology & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
Selected Publications
Do dogs rationally infer the causes of failed actions?
Bastos, A. P. M., Foster, G. R., & Krupenye, C.
Research Areas
Theory of Mind & Mindreading
The capacity to attribute mental states, such as beliefs, desires, and intentions, to oneself and others, and to use them to interpret and predict behavior.
Comparative & Developmental Cognition
Empirical and conceptual research on animal minds, from monkeys and great apes to dogs and human infants, including experimental work in comparative psychology.
Norm Psychology
The cognitive and evolutionary foundations of social norms, including how children acquire and enforce them, what it takes to count as a genuinely normative creature, and whether non-human animals qualify.
Bounded Rationality
Norms of rationality for real, cognitively limited agents, with a focus on Kantian and non-consequentialist approaches to epistemology and inquiry.
Kant on Moral Psychology & Education
Kant's account of moral development, character, and education, read in dialogue with contemporary developmental and moral psychology.
Get in Touch
I'm always happy to discuss research, collaboration, or questions about my work.
foste362 AT purdue DOT edu