Paul Bloom
Encyclopedia
Paul Bloom is a Professor of Psychology
and Cognitive Science
at Yale University
. His research explores how children and adults understand the physical and social world, with special focus on language
, morality
, religion
, fiction
, and art
.
, Quebec
. As an undergraduate he attended McGill University
, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
in Psychology
(with honors first class) in 1985. He attended graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, where he earned a Ph.D
in Cognitive Psychology
in 1990, under the supervision of Susan Carey
.
From 1990-1999, he taught Psychology
and Cognitive Science
at the University of Arizona
. Since 1999, he has been a Professor of Psychology
and Cognitive Science
at Yale University
.
Since 2003, Bloom has served as co-editor in chief
of the scientific journal
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
.
Bloom is married to the psychologist Karen Wynn, a noted infant researcher who is also a Professor of Psychology
and Cognitive Science
at Yale University
. They have two sons.
(2002); the Nijmegen Lectureship at the Max Planck Institute at the University of Nijmegen (2006); the Templeton Lectureship at Johns Hopkins University
(2007-8); and the Visiting Distinguished SAGE Fellowship at the UCSB SAGE Center for the Study of Mind (2010).
In 2003, the Society for Philosophy and Psychology
awarded Bloom the Stanton Prize for outstanding early-career contributions to interdisciplinary research in Philosophy
and Psychology
, and in 2005-6, he served as the Society’s President. In 2006, he was made a Fellow of the American Psychological Society in recognition of his “sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology.”
In 2004, he received the Lex Hixon Prize for teaching excellence in the social sciences
at Yale University
. In 2007, his Introduction to Psychology class was selected as an outstanding Yale course to be made available worldwide through the Open Yale Courses
initiative.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and Cognitive Science
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. His research explores how children and adults understand the physical and social world, with special focus on language
Language development
Language development is a process starting early in human life, when a person begins to acquire language by learning it as it is spoken and by mimicry. Children's language development moves from simple to complex. Infants start without language. Yet by four months of age, babies can read lips and...
, morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
.
Education and employment
Bloom was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. As an undergraduate he attended McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
(with honors first class) in 1985. He attended graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, where he earned a Ph.D
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
in 1990, under the supervision of Susan Carey
Susan Carey
Susan E. Carey is an American psychologist. She is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. She is an expert in language acquisition and is known for introducing the concept of fast mapping, whereby children learn the meanings of words after a single exposure. Carey received a B.A. from...
.
From 1990-1999, he taught Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and Cognitive Science
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. Since 1999, he has been a Professor of Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and Cognitive Science
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Since 2003, Bloom has served as co-editor in chief
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
of the scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Behavioral and Brain Sciences is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of Open Peer Commentary founded in 1978 by Stevan Harnad and published by Cambridge University Press...
.
Bloom is married to the psychologist Karen Wynn, a noted infant researcher who is also a Professor of Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and Cognitive Science
Cognitive science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. They have two sons.
Honors and awards
Bloom has held a number of distinguished visiting professorships, including the Harris Visiting Professorship at the Harris Center for Developmental Studies at the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(2002); the Nijmegen Lectureship at the Max Planck Institute at the University of Nijmegen (2006); the Templeton Lectureship at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
(2007-8); and the Visiting Distinguished SAGE Fellowship at the UCSB SAGE Center for the Study of Mind (2010).
In 2003, the Society for Philosophy and Psychology
Society for Philosophy and Psychology
The Society for Philosophy and Psychology is a professional organization in North America that promotes discussion and research at the intersection of philosophy, psychology and cognitive science...
awarded Bloom the Stanton Prize for outstanding early-career contributions to interdisciplinary research in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, and in 2005-6, he served as the Society’s President. In 2006, he was made a Fellow of the American Psychological Society in recognition of his “sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology.”
In 2004, he received the Lex Hixon Prize for teaching excellence in the social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. In 2007, his Introduction to Psychology class was selected as an outstanding Yale course to be made available worldwide through the Open Yale Courses
Open Yale Courses
Open Yale Courses is a project of Yale University to share full video and course materials from its undergraduate courses.Open Yale Courses provides free access to a selection of introductory courses....
initiative.
Books
- Bloom, P. (2010). How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- Bloom, P. (2004). Descartes' baby: How the science of child development explains what makes us human. New York: Basic Books.
- Bloom, P. (2000). How children learn the meanings of words. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press.
- Jackendoff, R.Ray JackendoffRay Jackendoff is an American linguist. He is professor of philosophy, Seth Merrin Chair in the Humanities and, with Daniel Dennett, Co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University...
; Bloom, P.; & Wynn, K. (1999). Language, logic, and concepts: Essays in honor of John Macnamara. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. - Bloom, P.; Peterson, M.; Nadel, L.Lynn NadelLynn Nadel is the Regents' Professor of Psychology at the University of Arizona. Nadel specializes in memory, and has investigated the role of the hippocampus in memory formation. Together with John O'Keefe, he coauthored the influential 1978 book The Hippocampus as a Cognitive Map, which...
; & Garrett, M. (1996). Language and space. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. - Bloom, P. (1994). Language acquisition: Core readings. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Selected popular articles
- (June 2010). Excerpt from Paul Bloom’s How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
- (May 2010). The Moral Life of Babies. The New York Times Magazine.
- (September 2009). The long and short of it. The New York Times.
- (August 2009). What's Inside a Big Baby Head? (Book Review: The Philosophical Baby by Alison GopnikAlison GopnikAlison Gopnik , daughter of Myrna Gopnik, is an American Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her work in the areas of cognitive and language development, specializing in causal learning and theory of mind...
). Slate. - (June 2009). No Smiting. (Book Review: The Evolution of God by Robert WrightRobert Wright (journalist)Robert Wright is an American journalist, scholar, and prize-winning author of best-selling books about science, evolutionary psychology, history, religion, and game theory, including The Evolution of God, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, The Moral Animal, and Three Scientists and Their Gods:...
). The New York Times. - (Nov. 2008). Does religion make you nice?. Slate.
- (Nov. 2008). First-person Plural. Atlantic Monthly.
- (Jun. 2006). Seduced by the flickering lights of the brain. Seed Magazine.
- (Dec. 2005). Is God an accident? The Atlantic Monthly.
- Links to Bloom's articles and books at Yale
Selected interviews and appearances
- Discussing his book "How Pleasure Works" on the 7th Avenue Project radio show http://7thavenueproject.com/post/700254101/paul-bloom-interview-how-pleasure-works
- Discussing the moral capacities of babies on the 7th Avenue Project radio show http://7thavenueproject.com/post/632564658/baby-morality-paul-bloom-arthur-stone-interviews
- Interview on The Leonard Lopate Show http://beta.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2010/may/13/moral-life-babies/
- Open Yale Courses: Introduction to Psychology http://oyc.yale.edu/psychology/introduction-to-psychology
- Bloggingheads.tv: Paul Bloom & Tamar Szabo GendlerTamar GendlerTamar Szabó Gendler is a Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at Yale University, and Chair of the Yale University Department of Philosophy. Her primary interests include metaphysics, epistemology and philosophical psychology....
, Percontations: Beliefs, Aliefs, and Daydreams (May 31, 2009)http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/20086 - Bloggingheads.tv: Paul Bloom & Will WilkinsonWill WilkinsonWill Wilkinson is a Canadian American libertarian writer. Until August 2010, he was a research fellow at the Cato Institute where he worked on a variety of issues including Social Security reform and, most notably, the policy implications of happiness research. He is currently working on a paper...
, Free Will: Praying for Atheists (December 8, 2008)http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/16381 - Bloggingheads.tv: Paul Bloom & Joshua KnobeJoshua KnobeJoshua Knobe is an experimental philosopher currently employed as an assistant professor in the Program in Cognitive Science and Department of Philosophy at Yale University. He was previously Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Knobe received his...
, Science Saturday: Morality and Religion (March 29, 2008)http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/9785
External links
- Paul Bloom's personal homepage
- Video (with mp3s available) discussions involving Paul Bloom on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- Introduction to Psychology, video course by Paul Bloom at Open Yale CoursesOpen Yale CoursesOpen Yale Courses is a project of Yale University to share full video and course materials from its undergraduate courses.Open Yale Courses provides free access to a selection of introductory courses....
- Summaries of Introduction to Psychology video courses, written summaries of video course by Paul Bloom at Open Yale CoursesOpen Yale CoursesOpen Yale Courses is a project of Yale University to share full video and course materials from its undergraduate courses.Open Yale Courses provides free access to a selection of introductory courses....
- TED - Paul Bloom: The origins of pleasure