Michael Tomasello
Encyclopedia
Michael Tomasello is an American developmental
psychologist
. He is a co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
in Leipzig, Germany.
, Florida. He received his bachelor's degree from Duke University
and his doctorate from University of Georgia
. He was a professor of psychology at Emory University
in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1980s and 1990s before moving to Germany.
He has worked to identify the unique cognitive and cultural processes that distinguish humans from their nearest primate
relatives, the great apes
. He studies the social cognition of great apes at the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center in Leipzig. In his developmental research he has focused on how human children become members of cultural groups, focusing in recent years on uniquely human skills and motivations for shared intentionality: joint intentions, joint attention, prosocial motives, and social norms.
Tomasello also works on child language acquisition
as a crucially important aspect of the enculturation process. He subscribes to the cognitive linguistics
school of linguistic theory. He is a critic of Noam Chomsky
's generative grammar
, rejecting the idea of an innate universal grammar and instead proposing a usage-based theory (sometimes called the social-pragmatic approach to language acquisition) in which children learn linguistic structures through intention-reading and pattern-finding in their discourse interactions with others.
psychologist
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
. He is a co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology is a research institute based in Leipzig, Germany, founded in 1997. It is part of the Max Planck Society network....
in Leipzig, Germany.
Life
Tomasello was born in BartowBartow, Florida
Bartow is the county seat of Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow the first brigade commander to die in combat during the American Civil War. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2000 Census, the city had a...
, Florida. He received his bachelor's degree from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and his doctorate from University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
. He was a professor of psychology at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1980s and 1990s before moving to Germany.
He has worked to identify the unique cognitive and cultural processes that distinguish humans from their nearest primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
relatives, the great apes
Great Apes
Great Apes may refer to*Great apes, species in the biological family Hominidae, including humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans*Great Apes , a 1997 novel by Will Self...
. He studies the social cognition of great apes at the Wolfgang Köhler Primate Research Center in Leipzig. In his developmental research he has focused on how human children become members of cultural groups, focusing in recent years on uniquely human skills and motivations for shared intentionality: joint intentions, joint attention, prosocial motives, and social norms.
Tomasello also works on child language acquisition
Language acquisition
Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate. This capacity involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive vocabulary. This language might be vocal as with...
as a crucially important aspect of the enculturation process. He subscribes to the cognitive linguistics
Cognitive linguistics
In linguistics, cognitive linguistics refers to the branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms...
school of linguistic theory. He is a critic of Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
's generative grammar
Generative grammar
In theoretical linguistics, generative grammar refers to a particular approach to the study of syntax. A generative grammar of a language attempts to give a set of rules that will correctly predict which combinations of words will form grammatical sentences...
, rejecting the idea of an innate universal grammar and instead proposing a usage-based theory (sometimes called the social-pragmatic approach to language acquisition) in which children learn linguistic structures through intention-reading and pattern-finding in their discourse interactions with others.
Awards
- German National Academy of Sciences [elected, 2003]
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, 1997 - Fyssen Foundation Prize, Paris, 2004
- Jean Nicod PrizeJean Nicod PrizeThe Jean Nicod Prize is awarded annually in Paris to a leading philosopher of mind or philosophically-oriented cognitive scientist. The lectures are organized by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique as part of its effort to promote interdisciplinary research in cognitive science in...
, Paris, 2006 - Mind and Brain Prize, University of Torino, 2007
- Fellow, Cognitive Science Society [elected 2008]
- Hegel Prize, Stuttgart, 2009
- Oswald Külpe Prize, University of Würzburg, 2009
- Max Planck Research Prize [Human Evolution], Humboldt Society, 2010
- Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science, Amsterdam, 2010
- Hungarian National Academy of Sciences [elected, 2010]
- British Academy Wiley Prize in Psychology, 2011
Selected works
- Tomasello, M. & Call, J. (1997), Primate Cognition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195106244
- Tomasello, M (1999) The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00582-1 (Winner of the William James Book Award of the APA, 2001)
- Tomasello, M (2003) Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition, Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01764-1 (Winner of the Cognitive Development Society Book Award, 2005)
- Tomasello, M. (2008). Origins of Human Communication. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262201773 (Winner of the Eleanor Maccoby Book Award of the APA, 2009)
- Tomasello, M. (2009). Why We Cooperate. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262013598 (Trad. esp.: ¿Por qué cooperamos?, Buenos Aires/Madrid, Katz editores S.A, 2010, ISBN 9788492946099)
External links
- Official website
- Max Planck Institute
- Origin of Human Communication Jean Nicod Lectures