Elisabetta Palagi conducts naturalistic studies of social behavior and empathy in primates at the University of Pisa, Italy. Her research explores the development of play in juvenile chimpanzees and bonobos, the role of play signals in managing social relationships, and the use of play to reduce stress and conflict in adult primates. A prominent theme in her work is rapid facial mimicry during play — she has shown that the ability to mirror a partner's play face predicts the duration of cooperative play bouts. She edits the journals Behaviour, Primates, and PLoS ONE.
