1. Psychology
  2. Training Areas
  3. Cognitive and Comparative Psychology

Cognitive and Comparative Psychology

The Cognitive and Comparative Psychology training area at CUNY is chiefly concerned with the study of cognitive and behavioral processes across the animal kingdom. Our basic belief is that a more complete understanding of psychological processes can often be achieved by considering such processes within an evolutionary context. In some cases, those processes will be highly specialized and in other cases they will be quite general, and we welcome analyses of the diversity of psychological processes by studying cognition and behavior at multiple levels of investigation with humans as well as with other animals.

Students and faculty in the CCP training area conduct research to understand the functions and mechanisms of cognition and behavior in human and non-human animals. We work on perception, memory, attention, creativity, concepts, learning, decision-making, language acquisition and processing, and communication across species. We take an integrative approach that combines cognitive, evolutionary, ecological, and comparative frameworks to answer fundamental questions about the proximate and ultimate causes of cognition and behavior. We use a variety of methods – observations, experiments in the field and the laboratory, neuroscience, and computational modelling. We prepare students for careers in academia (research and teaching), as well as in health, education, business, and industrial settings.

Training area faculty

Curriculum and Degree Information

CCP Student Handbook

CCP Photo Gallery

Contact Us

Andrew Delamater - professor - headshot

Professor Andrew Delamater, Ph.D​.
CCP Training Area Head
Email: andrewd@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Phone: (718) 951-5000 x6026

Cognitive and Comparative Psychology Faculty

Patricia Brooks - Professor - profile photo

Patricia Brooks

Professor

  • Educational Psychology

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
Elizabeth Chua - Assistant Professor - profile photo

Elizabeth Chua

Associate Professor

  • Psychology

Associate Professor

  • Neuroscience

Associate Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
Andrew Delamater - professor - headshot

Andrew Delamater

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Neuroscience

Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
Paul Feinstein - Professor - profile photo

Paul Feinstein

Professor

  • Biochemistry

Professor

  • Biology

Professor

  • Chemistry

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Neuroscience
Paul M. Forlano - Associate Professor - profile photo

Paul M. Forlano

Professor

  • Biology

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Neuroscience
Yu Gao - Assistant Professor - profile photo

Yu Gao

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Neuroscience

Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
Jon C. Horvitz - Professor - profile photo

Jon C. Horvitz

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Neuroscience

Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
headshot: David Johnson

David Johnson

Assistant Professor

  • Psychology

Assistant Professor

  • Neuroscience

Assistant Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
Natalie Kacinik - Assistant Professor - profile photo

Natalie Kacinik

Associate Professor

  • Psychology

Associate Professor

  • Neuroscience
Anjali Krishnan - Assistant Professor - profile photo

Anjali Krishnan

Associate Professor

  • Psychology

Associate Professor

  • Neuroscience
David C. Lahti - Assistant Professor - profile photo

David C. Lahti

Associate Professor

  • Biology

Assistant Professor

  • Psychology
Jonathan Levitt

Jonathan Levitt

Professor

  • Biology

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Neuroscience

Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
Jennifer Mangels - Professor - profile photo

Jennifer Mangels

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Neuroscience

Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
Daniel McCloskey - Associate Professor - profile photo

Daniel McCloskey

Associate Professor

  • Biology

Associate Professor

  • Psychology

Associate Professor

  • Neuroscience
Robert Melara - Professor - profile photo

Robert Melara

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
GC profile default image

Thomas Preuss

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Neuroscience

Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
Carolyn Pytte - Associate Professor - profile photo

Carolyn Pytte

Associate Professor

  • Psychology

Associate Professor

  • Biology

Associate Professor

  • Neuroscience
Peter Serrano - Associate Professor - profile photo

Peter Serrano

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Biology

Professor

  • Biochemistry

Professor

  • Neuroscience

Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
Ofer Tchernichowski - Professor - profile photo

Ofer Tchernichovski

Professor

  • Psychology

Professor

  • Biology

Professor

  • Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences

Professor

  • Neuroscience
Virginia Valian's portrait by Alex Irklievski, 04/25/2023, CUNY Graduate Center

Virginia Valian

Distinguished Professor

  • Psychology

Distinguished Professor

  • Linguistics

Distinguished Professor

  • Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences
GC profile default image

Jennifer Wagner

Associate Professor

  • Psychology

Associate Professor

  • Cognitive Neuroscience

CCP Research

View examples of the exciting and diverse research conducted by our faculty and students.