<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-673a043d-7fff-4d7d-9fc5-390eccbf4202" class=""><font face="Arial" class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><a href="https://manyprimates.github.io/" class="">ManyPrimates</a> is a collaborative network of researchers interested in primate cognition. We collect large datasets on primate cognition in order to investigate how cognitive abilities vary across species. These datasets are the basis for studying cognitive evolution in a quantitative way. </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Our first project - ManyPrimates 1 (MP1) - tests short-term memory. The final dataset will include data from 400+ primates from 30+ species (probably the largest dataset on primate cognition ever to be collected). As part of MP1 we want to test evolutionary hypotheses about short-term memory. That is, we want to examine which external (social, ecological) species level variables account for differences in short-term memory abilities between species. </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The number of potential predictors and models to consider are endless and there is no a priori way of determining which models and predictors make sense and which do not. The only way is to think through each model and its implications. The outcome of this process depends on theoretical views about what drives cognitive evolution.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">To remain theoretically neutral, we want the community to select the models for consideration. We therefore announce the first </span><a href="https://manyprimates.github.io/mp1/models" class="">ManyPrimates modeling challenge</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">We encourage everyone to spell out the process they think drives the evolution of short-term memory abilities and submit it to the challenge as a model*</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. All submitted models will enter into a model comparison**</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. The winning model(s) will be highlighted in the corresponding paper and the author(s) will be honored at the ManyPrimates symposium in July 2020. </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">There are different ways you can submit a model: </span></div><ol style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;" class=""><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;" class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">As a formula (e.g. y ~ x + z). This kind of submission makes it easy for us to translate the model to a statistical model. When submitting a formula, please make sure that you specify all variables in it. Example: </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">smt ~ tree_density</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. This model assumes that short term memory abilities (</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">smt</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">) in/decrease with tree density in the species natural habitat (</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">tree_density</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">). </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;" class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">As graphical model (</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_acyclic_graph" style="text-decoration:none;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">DAG</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> or structural causal model). In addition to the formula, a causal model allows us to test additional causal implications. </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;" class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">As a verbal description: Here you simply spell out your model verbally. Example: “</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Primates whose natural habitat has a lot of trees have better short term memory”</span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. If you submit a verbal description, we will work together with you to translate it into a formula and/or a causal model. </span></div></li></ol><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">If you submit a formula or a graphical model, please also include a short verbal description of the causal structure***</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> and relevant references (if applicable). Models can include many variables and also interaction terms. In any case, it’s important that you specify how your predictors will be measured and how the necessary data can be obtained. In the example above, this could be “</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">number of trees per square mile</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">” with a link to a database that lists this information for all primate species. </span></div><br class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Please submit your model to </span><a href="mailto:manyprimates@gmail.com" style="text-decoration:none;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">manyprimates@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;" class=""><font color="#000000" class=""><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. We will accept models until March 31st, 2020. </span></font></span></font></span><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span></font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">If you have any questions, please contact me or the email address above. </span></font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span></font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Best, </span></font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span></font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Manuel <br class=""></span></font><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span></font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><br class=""></span></font></div><div class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-865dc47f-7fff-0688-2b6b-d10c616596dd" class=""><span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">* </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Only specify which species level </span><span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">external</span><span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> variables and their relation, all models will include a standard set of control predictors and will account for phylogeny.</span></div><div class=""><span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">** </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Models will be fit in a Bayesian framework and compared based on WAIC scores and weights - whenever a causal model is submitted, we will also compare models based on their testable implications (see e.g. Peters, Janzing & Schölkopf, 2017; Pearl, Glymour & Jewell, 2016).</span></div><div class=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">***</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> Please describe causal relations between predictors and outcome variables as well as causal relations between predictors (if there are multiple). </span></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.666666984558105px;" class=""><br class=""></span></span></font></div><div class=""><font color="#000000" face="Arial" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""><span style="font-size: 14.666666984558105px;" class=""><br class=""></span></span></font><div class="">
--<br class="">Dr. Manuel Bohn<br class="">Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow<br class="">Department of Psychology,<div class="">Stanford University &</div><div class="">Leipziger Forschungszentrum für frühkindliche Entwicklung,</div><div class="">Universität Leipzig<br class=""><br class=""></div>
</div>
<br class=""></div></div></body></html>