Michael Tomasello is a world-renowned developmental and comparative psychologist whose interdisciplinary research bridges psychology, linguistics, and anthropology. He currently serves as James F. Bonk Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University, with additional appointments in Linguistics, Philosophy, and Evolutionary Anthropology. Born in Bartow, Florida in 1950, he earned his bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1972 and completed his PhD in Experimental Psychology at the University of Georgia in 1980. Following academic positions at Emory University during the 1980s and 1990s, he spent two decades as Co-Director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig before returning to Duke University.
Tomasello's pioneering research has fundamentally transformed our understanding of the origins of human social cognition through rigorous comparative studies of human children and great apes. His identification of uniquely human forms of cooperation, communication, and cultural learning has provided revolutionary insights into what distinguishes human cognition from that of our closest primate relatives. His theoretical framework of shared intentionality has become central to understanding the developmental emergence of human-specific cognitive abilities. His influential publications including Origins of Human Communication (2008), Why We Cooperate (2009), A Natural History of Human Thinking (2014), and A Natural History of Human Morality (2016) have established new paradigms for studying the evolution and development of human cognition. His experimental work documenting the crucial roles of cooperation, joint attention, and intersubjective processes in children's cultural learning has reshaped developmental psychology.
Widely regarded as one of the most authoritative figures in developmental and comparative psychology, Tomasello's interdisciplinary approach has earned him recognition as an expert across multiple fields. His contributions have been honored with prestigious awards including the Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science (2010), the British Academy's Wiley Prize in Psychology (2011), and the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award (2015). As founding associate editor of the journal Developmental Science, he has played a significant role in shaping scholarly discourse in his field. Currently continuing his groundbreaking research at Duke University, Tomasello is exploring the developmental pathways that differentiate Homo sapiens from great apes through his ongoing scholarly work, which continues to illuminate the evolutionary foundations of human cognition, cooperation, and morality.
