Ashley earned her PhD in Philosophy and Cognitive Science from the University of Waterloo. During her studies, she published research on mindreading in humans and birds. Some of this research involved collaboration between the Philosophical Science Lab and the Child Cognition Lab.
An MA thesis synthesizing theoretical and experimental work to argue that some birds attribute mental states to conspecifics.
A PhD thesis covering theoretical and empirical work on how we do and should view animals.
A PhD research area producing theoretical and experimental work on social cognition in primates and birds.