I am currently completing a PhD (2016-2020) at the University of Stirling, supervised by Prof Christine Caldwell. I previously completed a BSc in Bioveterinary Science from the University of Liverpool (2011) and an MSc in Neuroscience from University College London (2013). Before beginning my PhD, I obtained a PGCE teaching qualification from the University of Leicester and worked as a primary school teacher with a mathematics specialism (2015-2016).
My PhD work involves developmental psychology research with children aged 2-10 as part of the RATCHETCOG team. I am investigating which human-unique cognitive capacities may predict cumulative culture, and children, being less cognitively mature, provide an ideal model group. I am particularly interested in research on social cognition, metacognition, executive functions and cultural evolution. I also have an interest in comparative cognition and have some experience working with primates.
Other interests include developmental disorders, learning disabilities and child education.
Article
Wilks CEH, Atkinson M & Caldwell CA (2022) Children's use of social information from multiple models: Cognitive capacities underlying population size effects on cumulative culture. Culture and Evolution. https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2055/aop/article-10.1556-2055.2021.00005/article-10.1556-2055.2021.00005.xml; https://doi.org/10.1556/2055.2021.00005
Article
Wilks CEH, Rafetseder E, Renner E, Atkinson M & Caldwell CA (2021) Cognitive Prerequisites for Cumulative Culture are Context-Dependent: Children's Potential for Ratcheting Depends on Cue Longevity. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 204, Art. No.: 105031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2020.105031
Article
Experimental assessment of capacities for cumulative culture: Review and evaluation of methods
Caldwell CA, Atkinson M, Blakey KH, Dunstone J, Kean D, Mackintosh G, Renner E & Wilks CEH (2020) Experimental assessment of capacities for cumulative culture: Review and evaluation of methods. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 11 (1), Art. No.: e1516. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1516
Article
In the jungle of cultural complexity
Wilks CEH & Blakey KH (2018) In the jungle of cultural complexity. Evolutionary Anthropology, 27 (5), pp. 180-183. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21724
Article
Dissociable Processes for Orientation Discrimination Learning and Contextual Illusion Magnitude
Wilks CEH, Rees G & Schwarzkopf DS (2014) Dissociable Processes for Orientation Discrimination Learning and Contextual Illusion Magnitude. PLoS ONE, 9 (7), Art. No.: e103121. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0103121
I am currently looking to supervise an MSc research project alongside Prof Christine Caldwell. This project would be related to my PhD work and involve developmental data collection with children aged 3-8. Interested students should contact me via email.
