We are delighted to welcome Prof. Mike Tomasello to the Department of Experimental Psychology. Prof. Tomasello is a world-renowned comparative and developmental psychologist, whose work explores the processes of social cognition, social learning, cooperation, and communication across developmental, comparative, and cultural contexts (see below for further details of the seminar).
Abstract: Unique among mammals, great apes have evolved to be rational agents: (i) they metacognitively monitor their decision making and correct themselves or gather new information as needed; (ii) they understand why things happen in terms of the causal structure of the physical world and the intentional structure of the social world. Building on this foundation, humans have evolved in addition species-unique skills and motivations for collaboration and cultural life – shared agency and intentionality – which have made possible almost all of their most distinctive cognitive and cultural achievements.
Registration: https://www.oumnh.ox.ac.uk/event/humans-as-ultra-cooperative-great-apes
Host: Prof Robert Hepach (robert.hepach@psy.ox.ac.uk)
In addition to the seminar, there will be a group discussion session with Prof Tomasello on the same day (7 May 2025, 10am-12pm, in the Seminar Room of New Radcliffe House, 2nd Floor), hosted by Prof. Robert Hepach. This session is designed especially for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to share and discuss their work with Prof. Tomasello in an informal setting.
Please sign up here for the group discussion session and to learn more about the format.
Please feel free to share this announcement with colleagues—particularly those working with non-human primates or developmental psychology, who may find the session especially relevant.
In case of any questions about this event, please reach out to Prof Robert Hepach (robert.hepach@psy.ox.ac.uk).
Prof Michael Tomasello (Biography)
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University, and emeritus director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany. His research interests focus on processes of cooperation, communication, and cultural learning in human children and great apes. His recent books include Origins of Human Communication (MIT Press, 2008); Why We Cooperate (MIT Press, 2009); A Natural History of Human Thinking (Harvard U. Press, 2014); A Natural History of Human Morality (Harvard U. Press, 2016); Becoming Human (Harvard U. Press, 2019); The Evolution of Agency (MIT Press, 2022); Primate Cognition, 2nd Ed. (Oxford U. Press, 2024); and Agency and Cognitive Development (Oxford U. Press, 2024).
