[1] Often in collaboration with archaeologist Thomas G. Wynn, Coolidge has published more than 50+ articles and book chapters in cognitive archaeology.
[18] The Enhanced Working Memory Hypothesis (EWMH) proposes that a small but heritable change in executive functioning may have been the reason why Homo sapiens persisted and flourished, while cousin species like the Neandertals went extinct.
The EWMH was inspired, in part, by Coolidge’s reaction to an article by paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall[19] that had suggested the between-species difference related to language.
[20] He proposed the idea to his colleague, archaeologist Thomas Wynn, resulting in a collaboration to operationalize executive functions so they could be detected in the archaeological record, as for example, resourcing strategies like traps suggest the involvement of executive functions like planning and inhibition because they involve significant amounts of time between an action (building and setting a trap) and its reward (harvesting prey).
These tests are widely used by mental health professionals and clinical researchers to diagnose personality disorders and neuropsychological traits in adults, adolescents, and children.