Patrick Wood – Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences

Uncovering complementary information sharing in spider monkey collective foraging using higher-order spatial networks

9 January 2026 by Patrick Wood

A recent paper by Ramos-Fernandez, Walker, Silk, Boyer & Smith Aguilar, published in NPJ Complexity (2025), explores how spider monkeys share complementary foraging information in fission–fusion societies. By modelling overlaps in individual core ranges, they show how groups balance redundant and unique knowledge, potentially enabling the monkeys to adapt collectively to ever changing environments. Read …

Happy Holidays from the GRCDI

15 December 2025 by Patrick Wood

The GRCDI Members at the annual festive social

As 2025 draws to a close, we would like to take the opportunity to all who have attended our events, seminars and workshops throughout this year and to all who have made them possible. 2025 has been a fantastic year for the development of the centre. In May, we hosted the international ARCANI workshop at …

Pre-call announcement: GRCDI Small Research Project Grants

3 December 2025 by Patrick Wood

In mid-January 2026, the GRCDI will invite applications for Small Research Project Grants on the theme of Diverse Intelligences. Funding will be available for six research projects, with a maximum award of GBP £40,000 per project. The GRCDI is glad to be able to grant this funding through an award made to the GRCDI from the Templeton World Charity …

Discussion Event on Affective States in Animals

20 November 2025 by Patrick Wood

On Tuesday, the GRCDI welcomed Tom Smulders from the AFFECT-EVO COST Action to the University of St Andrews for a discussion of the group’s progress and future plans to help better our understanding of affective states in non-human animals. The event brought together postgraduate students and staff from multiple schools across the university, alongside global …

Chimpanzees Rationally Revise Their Beliefs

3 November 2025 by Patrick Wood

Researchers have discovered chimpanzees can revise their beliefs when presented with new evidence. This is an ability that was once thought exclusive to humans, but these findings suggest it may be much more widespread across species. In a new paper published in Science, researchers tested a group of chimpanzees by providing either a strong or …

Peek a boo! Information seeking about food and functionality in capuchin monkeys

31 October 2025 by Patrick Wood

A new paper published in Animal Cognition shows that capuchins are able to seek both food and functional information when faced with an uncertain situation. You can read the full paper here, or watch our video explaining the paper below: The researchers tested the capuchins with a series of experiments where they were presented with …

GRCDI Selected as Global Hub for Diverse Intelligences Research by TWCF

16 September 2025 by Patrick Wood

The Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences (GRCDI), co-directed by Josep Call and Amanda Seed at the University of St Andrews has been selected by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF) as one of three global hubs advancing research into Diverse Intelligences. The TWCF has also named Princeton University and Macquarie University as Diverse Intelligence …

Edinburgh Zoo Research Engagement Day

27 August 202528 July 2025 by Patrick Wood

On 21 July 2025, we welcomed visitors to the Budongo Research Unit and Living Links at Edinburgh Zoo for our Research Engagement Day. This event offered an opportunity for the public to get a closer look at the fascinating work that researchers from the Budongo Research Unit and Living Links perform with chimpanzees and capuchin …

Diverse Intelligences Summit 2025

5 August 202528 July 2025 by Patrick Wood

From 18–20 July, the Global Research Centre for Diverse Intelligences brought together researchers from a wide range of disciplines including animal cognition, artificial intelligence and machine learning, collective behaviour, and developmental psychology for the Diverse Intelligences Summit 2025.

Hosted over three days at the University of St Andrews, this annual event offered delegates the chance to hear from leading experts studying intelligence in all its forms and hold discussions with opportunities to build meaningful collaborations that will help shape the future of intelligence research.