Since June 2020, I am working at Leipzig Universisty. From 2009 until 2020, I first worked as Assistant Professor for Evolutionary Psychology, and since 2015 as Full Professor for Comparative Developmental Psychology at Freie Universität Berlin. My research interests center on the cognitive and communicative skills that might be uniquely human and those shared with other primate species, and the developmental trajectories of these skills. I use a cross-species, cross-cultural approach to study emotion expression, multimodal communication and prosocial behavior in human children of different cultural contexts and several species of nonhuman great apes, by combining observational and experimental, non-invasive methods. 

Journal articles (peer-reviewed)

Mühlenbeck, C., Pritsch, C., Wartenburger, I., Telkemeyer, S., Liebal, K. (2020). Attentional bias to facial expressions of different emotions – a cross-cultural comparison of ≠Akhoe Hai||om and German children and adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology.

Ebel, S.J., Kopp, K.S., & Liebal, K. (2020). Object preferences in captive Sumatran orang-utans (Pongo abelii), Behavioural Processes 170, 103993                 

Haun, D.B.M., Liebal K. et al. (2020). Ein Plädoyer für die Relevanz der Vergleichenden Psychologie für das Verständnis menschlicher Entwicklung. Kommentar zu Daum, M. M., Greve, W., Pauen, S., Schuhrke, B. und Schwarzer, G. (2020). Positionspapier der Fachgruppe Entwicklungspsychologie: Ein Versuch einer Standortbestimmung. Psychologische Rundschau,71, pp. 24-46. https://doi.org/10.1026/0033-3042/a000466

Ullrich, R. Mittelbach, M, & Liebal, K. (2019) Disseminating Intention: How a Term Has Spread Within Cross-Species Comparative Science. Journal of Comparative Psychology

Oña, L. S., Sandler, W., & Liebal, K. (2019). A stepping stone to compositionality in chimpanzee communication. PeerJ, 7, e7623.

Liebal, K., & Haun, D. B. M. (2018). Why cross-cultural psychology is incomplete without comparative and developmental perspectives. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 49(5), 751-763, https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022117738085

Liebal, K. & Oña, L. (2018). Mind the gap – moving beyond the dichotomy between intentional gestures and emotional facial and vocal signals of nonhuman primates. In Arbib, M., How the Brain Got Language. Towards a New Road Map, 19:1/2, pp. 121–135, https://doi.org/10.1075/is.17040.lie 

Kopp, K. S., & Liebal, K. (2018). Conflict resolution in socially housed Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). PeerJ, 6, e5303, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5303

Liebal, K., & Oña, L. (2018). Different Approaches to Meaning in Primate Gestural and Vocal Communication. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 478, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00478

Liebal, K., Schneider, C., & Errson-Lembeck, M. (2018). How primates acquire their gestures: evaluating current theories and evidence. Animal Cognition, 1-14,  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-018-1187-x

Halina, M., Liebal, K., & Tomasello, Michael (2018). The goal of ape pointing. PLoS ONE13(4); pe0195182, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195182

Lubrich, O., Stodulka, T., & Liebal, K. (2018). Affekte im Feld-Ein blinder Fleck der Forschung?, Interdisziplinäre Anthropologie, 179-197. 

Faria, R. Triant, D., Perdomo‑Sabogal, A., Overduin, B., Bleidorn, C.,  Bermudez Santana, C.I., Langenberger, D., Dall’Olio, G. M., Indrischek, H.,  Aerts, J., Engelhardt, J., Engelken, J. Liebal, K., Fasold, M., Robb, S., Grath, S., Rohit Raj Kolora, S., Carvalho, T., Salzburger, W., Jovanovic, V., Nowick, K. (2018). Introducing evolutionary biologists to the analysis of big data: guidelines to organize extended bioinformatics training courses. Evolution Education & Outreach, 11:8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-018-0080-z

Ullrich, R., Mittelbach, M., & Liebal, K. (2017). Scala naturae: the impact of historical values on current ‘evolution of language’ discourse. Journal of Language Evolution.

Gretscher, H., Tempelmann, S., Haun, D. B., Liebal, K., & Kaminski, J. (2017). Prelinguistic human infants and great apes show different communicative strategies in a triadic request situation. PLoS ONE, 12(4), e0175227. 

Pritsch, C., Telkemeyer, S., Mühlenbeck, C., & Liebal, K. (2017). Perception of facial expressions reveals selective affect-biased attention in humans and orangutans.Scientific Reports, 7. 

Liebal, K., & Rossano, F. (2017). The give and take of food sharing in Sumatran orang-utans, Pongo abelii, and chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes. Animal Behaviour, 133, 91-100. 

Liebal, K. (2017). What is a gesture? A lesson from comparative gesture research. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40.

Schneider, C., Liebal, K., & Call, J. (2017). “Giving” and “responding” differences in gestural communication between nonhuman great ape mothers and infants. Developmental Psychobiology, 59(3), 303-313. 

Townsend, S. W., Koski, S. E., Byrne, R. W., Slocombe, K. E., Bickel, B., Boeckle, M., ..., Liebal, K., . . . Gaunet, F. (2017). Exorcising Grice's ghost: an empirical approach to studying intentional communication in animals. Biological Reviews, 92(3), 1427-1433.

Mühlenbeck, C., Jacobsen, T., Pritsch, C., & Liebal, K. (2017). Cultural and species differences in gazing patterns for marked and decorated objects: a comparative eye-tracking study. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 6.

Damerius, L. A Forss, S., Kosonen, Z.K., Willems, E.P., Burkart, J.M., Call, J., Galdikas, B.M.F., Liebal, K., Haun, D.B.M., and van Schaik, C.P. (2017). Orientation toward humans predicts cognitive performance in orang-utans. Scientific Reports 7: 40052.

Kopp, K. S., & Liebal, K. (2016). Here you are!—Selective and active food sharing within and between groups in captive Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1-15.

Mühlenbeck, C., Liebal, K., Pritsch, C., & Jacobsen, T. (2016). Differences in the visual perception of symmetric patterns in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) and two human cultural groups: a comparative eye-tracking study. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 408.

Scheider, L., Waller, B. M., Oña, L., Burrows, A. M., & Liebal, K. (2016). Social Use of Facial Expressions in Hylobatids. PloS One, 11(3), e0151733.

Liebal, K. (2016). The ontogeny of great ape gesture-not a simple story. Comment on" Towards a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology: Framing the language-ready brain" by Michael A. Arbib. Physics o Life Reviews, 16, 85-87.

Lubrich, O. & Liebal, K. (2016). King Kong in the mist: Travel, knowledge, and emotion. KulturPoetik. 16 (1), 49-63

Koelsch, S., Jacobs, A. M., Menninghaus, W., Liebal, K., Klann-Delius, G., von Scheve, C., & Gebauer, G. (2015). The quartet theory of human emotions: an integrative and neurofunctional model. Physics of Life Reviews, 13, 1-27.

Liebal, K., Vaish, A., Haun, D., & Tomasello, M. (2014). Does sympathy motivate prosocial behaviour in great apes?. PLOS ONE, 9(1), e84299.

Scheider, L., Liebal, K., Oña, L., Burrows, A., & Waller, B. (2014). A comparison of facial expression properties in five hylobatid species. American Journal of Primatology. doi: 10.1002/ajp.22255

Reddy, V., Liebal, K., Hicks, K., Jonnalagadda, S., & Chintalapuri, B. (2013). The emergent practice of infant compliance: an exploration in two cultures. Developmental Psychology, 49(9), 1754-1762.

Waller, B.M., Warmelink, L., Liebal, K., Micheletta, J., & Slocombe, K.E. (2013). Pseudoreplication: A widespread problem in primate communication research. Animal Behaviour, 86(2), 483–488.

Luëf, E. M., Liebal, K. (2013). Development of a communicative gesture in gorillas (Gorilla gorilla). Interaction Studies, 14(1), 44-61.

Tempelmann, S., Kaminski, J., & Liebal, K. (2013). When apes point the finger - Three great ape species fail to use a conspecific's imperative pointing gesture. Interaction Studies, 14(1), 7-23.

Waller, B., Liebal, K., Burrows, A., & Slocombe, K. (2013). How can a multimodal approach to primate communication help us understand the evolution of communication? Evolutionary Psychology, 11(3): 538-549.

Liebal, K., & Haun, D. (2012). The importance of Comparative Psychology for Developmental Science. International Journal for Developmental Science, 6(1), 21-23.

Liebal, K. & Kaminski, J. (2012). Gibbons (Hylobates pileatus, H. moloch, H. lar, Symphalangus syndactylus) follow human gaze, but do not take the visual perspective of others. Animal Cognition, 15(6), 1211-1216.

Gretscher, H., Haun, D., Liebal, K., & Kaminski, J. (2012). Orangutans rely on orientation cues and egocentric rules when judging others’ perspectives in a competitive food task. Animal Behaviour, 84(2), 323–331.

Waller, B.M., Lembeck, M., Kuchenbuch, P., Burrows, A.M., & Liebal, K. (2012). GibbonFACS: A muscle-based facial movement coding system for the monogamous small apes. International Journal of Primatology, 33(4), 809-821.

Schneider, C., Call, J., & Liebal, K. (2012). What role do mothers play in the gestural acquisition of Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes? International Journal of Primatology, 33, 246–262.

Schneider, C., Call, J., & Liebal, K. (2012). Onset and early use of gestural communication in nonhuman great apes. American Journal of Primatology, 74(2), 102-113.  

Luëf, E. M., & Liebal, K. (2012). Infant-directed communication in lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla): Do older animals scaffold competence in infants. American Journal of Primatology, 74(9), 841-852.

Liebal, K. & Call, J. (2012). The origins of nonhuman primates’ manual gestures. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1585), 118-128.

Slocombe, K., Waller, B., & Liebal, K. (2011). The language void: the need for multimodality. Animal Behaviour, 81, 919–924.

Tempelmann, S., Kaminski, J., & Liebal, K. (2011). Focus on the essential: all great apes know when others are being attentive. Animal Cognition, 14, 433–439.

Burrows, A. M., Diogo, R., Waller, B. M., Bonar, C. J., & Liebal, K. (2011). Evolution of the muscles of facial expression in a monogamous ape: Evaluating the relative influences of ecological and phylogenetic factors in Hylobatids. The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology, 294(4), 645–663.

Liebal, K., Reddy, V., Hicks, K., Jonnalagadda, S., & Chintalapuri, B. (2011). Socialization goals and parental directives in infancy: The theory and the practice. Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 10(1), 113-131.

Schneider, C., Call, J., & Liebal, K. (2010). Do bonobos say NO by shaking their head? Primates, 51(3), 199-202.

Arbib, M., Liebal, K. & Pika, S. (2008). Primate vocalization, gesture and the evolution of human language. Current Anthropology, 49 (6): 1064‐1065.

Liebal K., Pika S., Tomasello M. (2006). Gestural communication of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Gesture 6 (1), 1-38.

Pika. S., Liebal, K., Tomasello M (2005). Gestural communication in subadult bonobos (Pan paniscus): Repertoire and use. American Journal of Primatology, 65 (1), 39-61.

Liebal, K., Pika, S., Call, J., Tomasello, M. (2004). To move or not to move: how apes alter the attentional state of others. Interaction Studies, 5(2), 199-219.

Liebal, K., Call, J., Tomasello, M. (2004). The use of gesture sequences in chimpanzees. American Journal of Primatology, 64(4), 377-396.

Liebal, K., Pika, S., Tomasello, M. (2004). Social communication in siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus): use of gestures and facial expressions. Primates, 45(1): 41-57.

Pika, S., Liebal, K., & Tomasello, M. (2003). Gestural communication in young gorillas (Gorilla gorilla): gestural repertoire, learning, and use. American Journal of Primatology, 60(3), 95-111.

Book chapter

Ullrich R. & Liebal, K. (2018). Times change, values change: Criteria for attributing language in species comparative research. In E. Luef & M. M. Marin (Eds.), The talking species: Perspectives on the evolutionary, neuronal, and cultural foundations of language. Graz: Unipress Graz-Verlag. 

Liebal, K. (2018). What gestures can and can not tell us about language evolution. In: Boë, L.-J., Fagot, J., Perrier, P. & Schwartz, J.-L. (eds.). Origins of Human Language: Continuities and Discontinuities with Nonhuman Primates.

Liebal, K. (2018). Primate Communication. In J. Vonk & T. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior (pp. 1-10). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Liebal, K. (2018). What gestures of nonhuman primates can (and cannot) tell us about language evolution. In Boë, L.-J., Fagot, J., Perrier, P. & Schwartz, J.-L., Origins of Human Language: Continuities and Discontinuities with Nonhuman Primates. Peter Lang.

Lubrich, O., Liebal, K. (2018) „Gorillas im Zwielicht”, in: Wunsch, M., Böhnert, M., Köchy, K. (eds.), Philosophie der Tierforschung, Vol. 3: Milieus und Akteure, pp. 299-324.

Hawkes, K., Chisholm J.S., Fairbanks, L. A., Johow, J., Kalcher-Sommersguter, E., Liebal, K., Myowa, M., Sommer, V., Thierry, B., Finlay, B. (2017). Primate Infancies: Causes and consequences of varying care. In Keller, H. & Bard, K. (ed.) The Cultural Nature of Attachment. Contextualizing Relationships and Development, pp.69-108. Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 22, J. Lupp (series ed.), Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, see also: https://www.esforum.de; https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/cultural-nature-attachment

Liebal, K. (2016). Communication and cognition of small apes. In Reichard, U., H. Hirai, & Barelli, C. (Hrsg.) Evolution of Gibbons and Siamang. Phylogeny, Morphology, and Cognition. Springer, 311-345.

Liebal, K. (2017). Gestural communication. In Fuentes, A. (Hrsg.) International Encyclopedia of Primatology. Wiley

Liebal, K. (2014). Emotionale Kommunikation nicht-menschlicher Primaten. In: Gebauer, G & Edler, M. (eds.) Sprachen der Emotion. Frankfurt: Campus Verlag 

Liebal, K. (2014). The psychology of gestures and gesture-like movements in non-human primates. In Müller, C., Cienki, A., Fricke, E., Ladewig, S.H., McNeill, D., & Tessendorf, S. (eds.) Body – Language – Communication: An international handbook on multimodality in human interaction. Volume 1. Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton. 

Koelsch, S., Jacobs, A. M., Menninghaus, W., Liebal, K., Klann-Delius, G., von Scheve, C., et al. (2013). Ein neurofunktionales Modell von Emotionen. In E. Schröger & S. Koelsch (Hrsg), Affektive und Kognitive Neurowissenschaft (Vol. 5 - Kognition, pp. 343-362). Göttingen, Bern, Toronto, Seattle: Hofgreve - Verlag für Psychologie.

Cross, I., Fitch, W. T., Aboitiz, F., Iriki, A., Jarvis, E.D., Lewis, J., Liebal, K., Merker, B., Stout, D., & Trehub, S. E. (2013). Culture and evolution. In Arbib, M. A. (Hrsg) Language, music, and the brain: A mysterious relationship, pp. 541 – 562. Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 10, J. Lupp (series ed.), Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Tempelmann, S. & Liebal, K. (2012). Spontaneous use of gesture sequences in orangutans: A case for strategy? In: Pika, S., & Liebal K. (Hrsg). Developments in Primate Gesture Research. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 73 – 91.

Hopkins, W.D., Pika, S., Liebal, K., Bania, A., Meguerditchian, A., Gardner, M., & Schapiro S.J. (2012). Handedness for manual gestures in great apes: A meta-analysis. In: Pika, S., & Liebal K. (Hrsg). Developments in Primate Gesture Research. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 93 – 111.

Liebal, K. (2007). Gestural communication in siamangs. In: Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (Hrsg). The Gestural Communication of Apes and Monkeys. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Liebal, K. (2007). Gestural communication in orangutans. In: Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (Hrsg). The Gestural Communication of Apes and Monkeys. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Pika, S., Liebal, K., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2007). The gestural communication of apes.In: Gestural Communication in Nonhuman and Human Primates. In: Liebal, K., Müller, C. and Pika, S. (Hrsg), 35–45.

Books

Liebal, K., Lubrich, O. & Stodulka, T. (2019). Emotionen im Feld. transcript-verlag.

Liebal, K., Waller, B., Burrows, A. Slocombe, K. (2013). Primate Communication. A Multimodal Approach. Cambridge University Press.

Pika, S., & Liebal K. (Hrsg) (2012). Developments in Primate Gesture research. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philadelphia.

Liebal, K., Müller, C., & Pika, S. (Hrsg) (2007). Gestural Communication in Nonhuman and Human primates. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.