COGNITIVE SCIENCE PROGRAM

Although great apes cooperate for some purposes, experimental studies comparing chimpanzees and human children suggest that human collaboration is unique in both its cognitive and social-motivational mechanisms. In particular, humans seem adapted for collaborative foraging, as even young children display numerous relevant psychological mechanisms, from special forms of social and mental coordination to special ways of evaluating and sharing the spoils with partners. The Shared Intentionality hypothesis specifies the ontogeny of these unique psychological mechanisms for social coordination and explicates their consequences for human cognition and sociality.  

Note: As part of our new policy to help reduce the climate impact of long-distance commercial flights, Dr. Tomasello will be giving his talk from his home campus in North Carolina, via BlueJeans. You are welcome to watch it remotely, but you are also more than welcome to join us in Swift 107.