I am broadly interested in animal cognition and human-animal interactions, with a special focus on the ethically and societally highly relevant group of farm animals. The aim of my PhD project is to elucidate domestication effects on numerical cognition in chickens.
McGetrick, J.*, Brosche, K.*, Nanchen, C., Rault, J.-L. (2025). Pigs solve a cooperative task without showing a clear understanding of the need for a partner. Scientific Reports 15, 5095. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-84529-3
Brosche, K.*, McGetrick, J.*, & Rault, J-L. (2025). Step aside! Assessing body awareness in pigs using a body-as-an-obstacle task. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 12(2), 172-234. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.12.02.02.2025
Brosche, K., Veit, A., Pérez Fraga, P., Wondrak, M., Andics, A., Virányi, Z. (2025). Human ostension enhances attentiveness but not performance in domestic pigs. Scientific Reports 15, 16161.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00511-7
* These authors contributed equally.
Given my fascination for the manifold interrelations between animal cognition and animal ethics, I completed a BSc in Biology and a BA in Philosophy at the University of Vienna, Austria in 2021. I then specialized in animal (and human) cognition and human-animal interactions during my master's studies: "Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition" (University of Vienna, 2022), "Middle European Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive Science" (University of Vienna and Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, 2023), and "Interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Human-Animal Interactions" (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 2023). In my master's projects as well as during several internships and short-term projects, I primarily investigated the cognitive abilities of domestic pigs, while also gaining some insights into the behavior and cognition of humans, ravens, ground squirrels and Japanese macaques.
