Learning about people (from monkeys and dogs) — live and on the Web

Monkeys and the family dog can teach you a lot about yourself, according to Yale psychologist Laurie Santos.

An evolutionary psychologist, Santos studies human behavior and the origins of the human mind by examining the behavior of other animals. She’ll discuss some of what she’s discovered and respond to viewer questions during a live webcast on Tuesday, Nov. 5, on @YaleLive.

Viewers may submit questions before and during the broadcast via Yale’s Facebook page, Twitter@Yale, and socialmedia@yale.edu. The program airs live on Yale’s YouTube channel at noon EST.

Santos, an associate professor of psychology and the director of Yale’s Comparative Cognition Laboratory, teaches one of Yale’s most popular undergraduate courses: “Sex, evolution, and human nature.” Much of her academic research explores rationality and irrationality in decision-making. Her 2010 TED Talk, “A monkey economy as irrational as ours,”has been viewed nearly 700,000 times.

@YaleLive is an interview program offering people worldwide an opportunity to engage with Yale minds. In other episodes Yale scholars examine what it means to die, the hunt for life beyond Earth, the future of cancer research, sustainable agriculture, the history of Yale, and much more. All episodes are available on YouTube.