University of Stirling

Stirling

FK9 4LA
Scotland

UK

Email:

My interest is in social cognition in primates and the evolution of socio-emotional behaviour, particularly the roles of eye gaze and facial expressions. By studying communication across species, we can better understand how evolutionary processes have shaped socio-emotional behaviours in humans and other primates, and generate novel, testable hypotheses. I am also interested in using observational methods to examine human-animal interactions, in terms of both communication across species and our emotional responses to interactions with animals.

Affiliations:

I am a member of our departmental Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG), the and the Scottish Primate Research Group. I am a council member for the British Science Association Psychology Section Committee (2007-) and a member of the Primate Society of Great Britain and International Society for Anthrozoology.  

Certified Facial Action Coding System (FACS) coder

Part of the resaerch team which modified FACS for use with chimpanzees:

Please visit the ChimpFACS website for further information on this project. 

We have also now developed a FACS for use in macaques [MAQFACS webiste]

Applying ChimpFACS to examine the form and function of facial expressions in chimpanzees, including a collaboration with Dr Charles Menzel (Language Research Center, Georgia State University) to examine emotional communication in language trained chimpanzees (funded by small grants from the Carnegie Foundation and British Academy).

FEELIX growing: an EU funded project looking at how socio-emotional skills emerge in humans and other primates in order to apply these principles to human-robot interaction.

Collaboration with Dalila Bovet, Laboratoire d’Éthologie et de Cognition Comparées, University of Paris X, looking at self control in African grey parrots

PhD Students:

• Anna Roberts (2005 -) studying gestural communication in wild chimpanzees.

• Adam Milligan (2008 -) Emotional laterality in primates.

• Betsy Herrelko (2008 - ) studying the use of video images in captive chimpanzees. The Chimpcam Project

Course co-ordinator for MSc Psychological Research Methods and MSc Evolution and Behaviour.

Member of the Learning and Teaching Committee, Postgraduate Committee.

Contribute to teaching on PSY9AK Animal Behaviour, which covers topics such as natural selection, sexual selection, behavioural ecology, human evolutionary psychology, primate cognition and observational reserach methods.

Co-ordinate two final year electives on the Psychology of Facial Expressions and Emotion. These electives look at facial expressions and emotion from a variety of perspectives, including evolutionary, developmental, and clinical approaches.

Final year projects

Interested in supervising projects examining:

• Visual communication and social monitoring in nonhuman primates
• Naturalistic observations of expression production or gaze behaviours in human adults and children
• Exploring human-animal interactions, including emotional responses in adults or children
• The impact of facial expressions upon interactions and/or person perception (e.g. in lonely heart ads)

• KA Bard, AD Gaspard & S-J Vick (in press) Chimpanzee faces under the magnifying glass: Emerging methods reveal cross-species similarities and individuality. In A. Weiss, J. King, & L. Murray (Eds). Personality and Behavioral Syndromes in Nonhuman Primates, Springer-Verlag.
• L Howard & S-J Vick (in press) Does it bite? The role of stimuli characteristics on preschoolers’ interactions with robots, insects and a dog. Anthrozoos.
• S-J Vick & A Paukner (2010) Variation and context of yawns in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). American Journal of Primatology, 72: 262-269 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20781          PDF
• S-J Vick, D Bovet & JR Anderson (2009) How do African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) perform
  on a delay of gratification task? Animal Cognition: 13 (2) 351-358. DOI 10.1007/s10071-009-0284-2    PDF

• JR Anderson & S-J Vick (2008) What do primates know about gaze? Chapter in K. Fujita & S. Itakura (Ed) Origins of the Social Mind: Evolutionary and Developmental Views, Springer.

• BM Waller, KA Bard, S-J Vick & M Smith Pasqualini (2007) Perceived differences between chimpanzee and human facial expressions are related to emotional interpretation Journal of Comparative Psychology, 121 (4) 398-404 ABSTRACT
• LA Parr, BM Waller, S-J Vick (2007)A new method for studying comparative emotional communication: The Chimpanzee Facial Action Coding System. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16,3: 117–122 PDF
• S-J Vick, BM Waller, LA Parr, M Smith Pasqualini & KA Bard (2007) A cross species comparison of facial morphology and movement in humans and chimpanzees using FACS. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 31: 1-20. PDF
• EJ Bethell, S-J Vick & KA Bard (2007) Measurement of eye-gaze in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) American Journal of Primatology 69 (5): 562-575 PDF
• LA Parr, BM Waller, S -J Vick & KA Bard (2007) Classifying chimpanzee facial expressions using muscle action. Emotion Vol 7(1): 172-181 PDF
• BM Waller, S-J Vick, LA Parr, MC Smith Pasquialini,  KA Bard, K Gothard & A Fuglevand (2006) Intramuscular electrical stimulation of facial muscles in humans and chimpanzees: Duchenne revisited and extended Emotion, 6: 367-382 ABSTRACT
• S-J Vick, I Toxopeus & JR Anderson (2006) Pictorial gaze cues do not enhance long tailed macaques' perfomance on a computerised object-location task Behavioural Processes, 73: 308-314 PDF
• S-J Vick & JR Anderson (2003) The use of visual orientation cues in a competitive task by olive baboons (Papio anubis). Journal of Comparative Psychology 117: 209–216 PDF
• S-J Vick, D Bovet & JR Anderson (2001) Gaze discrimination learning in olive baboons ( Papio anubis). Animal Cognition 4: 1-10 PDF
• JR Anderson, H Kuroshima, H Kuwahata, K Fujita & S-J Vick (2001) Training squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) to deceive. Journal of Comparative Psychology 115: 282-293 ABSTRACT
• S-J Vick & JR Anderson (2001) Communication visuelle chez les primates non humains: le rôle du visage. Primatologie 4: 25-47
• S-J Vick & JR Anderson (2000) Learning and limits of use of eye gaze by capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) in an object-choice task. Journal of Comparative Psychology 114: 200–207 PDF
• S-J Vick, JR Anderson & RJ Young (2000) Maracas for Macaca? Evaluation of three potential enrichment objects in two species of macaques. Zoo Biology 19: 181-191  PDF

Manuals:

S-J Vick, BM Waller, LA Parr, MC Smith Pasqualini & KA Bard (2006) The ChimpFACS manual. University of Portsmouth. [CHIMPFACS MANUAL]

LA Parr, S-J Vick, BM Waller, AM Burrows & K Gothard (2009) MaqFACS: Macaque Facial Action Coding System.  [MAQFACS MANUAL]

2009

Interspecies: Artists collaborating with animals, London.

Exploring chimpanzee cognition using visual stimuli

2008

International Primatological Society, Symposium on Facial Expression, Edinburgh

            Yawning in chimpanzees: An observational study of form and function                               

Seminar, Laboratoire d’Éthologie et de Cognition Comparées, University of Paris X, France

            Studying self-control in birds

2007

Seminar, Laboratoire d’Éthologie et de Cognition Comparées, University of Paris X, France

Do African grey parrots have any self control?

Seminar, Psychology Department, University of Strathclyde, Uk

Why study chimpanzee facial expressions?

2006

Seminar, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA

ChimpFACS: applications for the comparative study of emotional expression

2005                                                                                     

BA Festival of Science, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland  

Public lecture: What can we learn from studying primate facial expressions?                                                                                                                        

l1th European Conference on Facial Expressions, University of Durham, UK

Organiser/presenter symposium on primate facial communication

3rd International Workshop on Evolution & Development of Cognition, University of Kyoto, Japan  

The evolution of facial communication in primates

      It will all of course be fine......