Publications

Plotnik J. M. & Jacobson, S. L. (2022). A “thinking animal” in conflict: studying wild elephant cognition in the shadow of anthropogenic change. Current Opinions in Behavioral Science, 46, 101148. DOWNLOAD

Ball, R., Jacobson, S. L., Rudolph, M. S., Trapani, M., & Plotnik, J. M. (2022). Acknowledging the Relevance of Elephant Sensory Perception to Human–Elephant Conflict Mitigation. Animals, 12(8), 1018. DOWNLOAD

Li, L-L, Plotnik, J.M., Xia, S-W., Meaux, E., & Quan R-C. (2021). Cooperating elephants mitigate competition until the stakes get too high. PLOS Biology, 19(9), e3001391. DOWNLOAD

Jacobson, S. L., Puitiza, A., Snyder, R. J., Sheppard, A., & Plotnik, J. M. (2021). Persistence is key: investigating innovative problem solving by Asian elephants using a novel multi-access box. Animal Cognition, 25(3), 657-669. DOWNLOAD

Shaw R., Greggor A., & Plotnik, J.M. (2021). The challenges of replicating research on endangered species. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 8(2), 240-246. DOWNLOAD

Jim Hoi-Lam, Range, F., Marshall-Pescini, S., Dale, R., & Plotnik, J.M. (2021). Investigating indirect and direct reputation formation in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 604372doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.604372. DOWNLOAD

Downey H…Plotnik, J.M…Sutherland, W.J. (2021). Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 2, e12032. doi: 10.1002/2688-8319.12032. DOWNLOAD

Jacobson, S. L., & Plotnik, J. M. (2020). The importance of sensory perception in an elephant’s cognitive world. Comparative Cognition and Behavior Reviews, 15DOWNLOAD

DiPaola, J. D., Yindee, M., & Plotnik, J. M. (2020). Investigating the use of sensory information to detect and track prey by the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) with conservation in mind. Scientific Reports, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65898-x. DOWNLOAD

Ketchaisri, O., Siripunkaw, C., & Plotnik, J. M. (2019). The use of a human’s location and social cues by Asian elephants in an object-choice task. Animal Cognition22(6), 907–915. doi: 10.1007/s10071-019-01283-0. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J. M., Brubaker, D. L., Dale, R., Tiller, L. N., Mumby, H. S., & Clayton, N. S. (2019). Elephants have a nose for quantity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences116(25), 12566–12571. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1818284116. DOWNLOAD

Mumby, H. S., & Plotnik, J. M. (2018). Taking the Elephants Perspective: Remembering Elephant Behavior, Cognition and Ecology in Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution6. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00122. DOWNLOAD

Dale, R., & Plotnik, J. M. (2017). Elephants know when their bodies are obstacles to success in a novel transfer task. Scientific Reports, 7(1). doi: 10.1038/srep46309. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J. M., & Waal, F. B. D. (2014). Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) reassure others in distress. PeerJ2. doi: 10.7717/peerj.278. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J. M., & Waal, F. B. M. D. (2014). Extraordinary elephant perception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences111(14), 5071–5072. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1403064111. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J. M., Shaw, R. C., Brubaker, D. L., Tiller, L. N., & Clayton, N. S. (2014). Thinking with their trunks: elephants use smell but not sound to locate food and exclude nonrewarding alternatives. Animal Behaviour88, 91–98. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.11.011. DOWNLOAD

MacLean, E. L., Hare, B., Nunn, C. L., Addessi, E., Amici, F., Anderson, R. C., … & Plotnik, J. M. (2014). The evolution of self-control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(20), E2140-E2148. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J. M., Pokorny, J. J., Keratimanochaya, T., Webb, C., Beronja, H. F., Hennessy, A., … Getz, D. (2013). Visual Cues Given by Humans Are Not Sufficient for Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) to Find Hidden Food. PLoS ONE8(4). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061174. DOWNLOAD

Shaw, R. C., Plotnik, J. M., & Clayton, N. S. (2013). Exclusion in corvids: The performance of food-caching Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius). Journal of Comparative Psychology127(4), 428–435. doi: 10.1037/a0032010. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J. M., Lair, R., Suphachoksahakun, W., & Waal, F. B. M. D. (2011). Elephants know when they need a helping trunk in a cooperative task. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences108(12), 5116–5121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1101765108. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J. M., Waal, F. B. D., Moore, D., & Reiss, D. (2010). Self-recognition in the Asian elephant and future directions for cognitive research with elephants in zoological settings. Zoo Biology29(2), 179–191. doi: 10.1002/zoo.20257. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J. M., Waal, F. B. M. D., & Reiss, D. (2006). Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences103(45), 17053–17057. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0608062103. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik, J., Nelson, P. A., & Waal, F. B. M. (2006). Visual Field Information in the Face Perception of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences1000(1), 94–98. doi: 10.1196/annals.1280.020. DOWNLOAD

Book Chapters or Invited Commentaries

Krisch E, Plotnik J. In press. The social minds of elephants. Cambridge Handbook of Social Cognition. Univ of Cambridge Press.

Jacobson S, Plotnik J. (2020). Elephant cognition: an overview. In Zoo Animal Learning and Training (eds. Melfi VA, Dorey NR, Ward SJ). John Wiley and Sons. Pp. 191-196. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik J. (2018). Thinking, smelling and saving elephants. The Psychologist Magazine, 31. Pp. 28-53. DOWNLOAD

Plotnik J, Clayton NS. (2015). Convergent cognitive evolution across animal taxa: Comparisons of chimpanzees, corvids and elephants. Concepts: New Directions. MIT Press.

Plotnik J. (2014). Inside the elephant mind. PlanetWildlife Magazine.

Plotnik J, de Waal FBM. (2010). Cooperation. Encyc. Appl. Animal Behav. Welfare (edited by D. Mills et al.). London: CABI Press.

Dr. Joshua Plotnik
Department of Psychology
Hunter College, the City University of New York

695 Park Avenue, Room HN 611
New York, NY 10065
(212) 396-6442

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Copyright © 2018, Joshua Plotnik