Welcome to the

Adaptive Decision-making, Problem-solving and Thinking Lab

Led by Dr. Sarah Pope-Caldwell in the Department of Psychology of Georgia State University.

Our research explores how cultural and environmental factors influence flexible thinking and learning in children and adults, incorporating comparative studies between humans and nonhuman primates.

How does growing up in different cultures change our problem solving approaches?

We study how children's cognitive flexibility develops in different cultural settings, how cultural factors shape problem-solving and learning approaches, and how to support the cognitive processes that enable flexible thinking.

What experiences and contexts impact the way we learn and make decisions?

With research sites in Atlanta (USA), Leipzig (Germany), and the Likouala region (Republic of the Congo), we explore how these skills and strategies vary across different ages, cultural groups, and individuals.

What can other primates teach us about what makes human problem-solving unique?

Additionally, by comparing flexible thinking between humans and other primates, we can uncover the shared and unique strategies that humans and other primates use to adapt to their environments.

The ADAPT lab is hiring!

  • Research Coordinator - start Fall 2024; application open until position is filled

  • PhD Student (cross-cultural focus) - to start Fall 2025; application deadline December 1st 2024

  • PhD Student (non-human primate focus) - to start Fall 2025 ; application deadline December 1st 2024

Our Research Projects

  • Development of polarized beliefs

    This project looks at how cognitive flexibility, cultural contexts, and social factors contribute to the formation of rigid, polarized beliefs in children from different cultures.

    Funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation .

    Preregistration

  • Eco-cultural influences on flexible thinking

    This project looks at the development of flexible strategy-use, and how this is shaped by our exposure to variability, predictability, and harshness in our daily lives.

    Funded by the Leakey Foundation .

    Preregistration

  • Flexible decision-making in monkeys

    Do monkeys adapt their decision-making styles to meet the needs of changing contexts in the same way as humans?

    Research conducted at GSU's Language Research Center.