Major research interests in processes of social cognition, social learning, cooperation, and communication from developmental, comparative, and cultural perspectives. Current theoretical focus on processes of shared intentionality. Empirical research mainly with human children from 1 to 4 years of age and great apes.

Office Location: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, 247 Reuben-Cooke Building, Durham, NC
Email Address:
Web Page: https://sites.duke.edu/tomasellolabduke/people/

Education:
Ph.D., University of Georgia, 1980
B.A., Duke University, 1972

Research Interests:

Major research interests in processes of social cognition, social learning, cooperation, and communication from developmental, comparative, and cultural perspectives. Current theoretical focus on processes of shared intentionality. Empirical research mainly with human children from 1 to 4 years of age and great apes.

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

• Hepach, R; Tomasello, M. "Instrumental helping motivations of children and chimpanzees." Child Development Perspectives 19.2 (June, 2025): 72-79. [doi]  [abs]
• Tomasello, M. "Agency and Intentionality." Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 62 (April, 2025). [doi]  [abs]
• Wolf, W; Tomasello, M. "A Shared Intentionality Account of Uniquely Human Social Bonding.." Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science 20.2 (March, 2025): 264-275. [doi]  [abs]
• Tomasello, M. "Children's developing understanding of social norms.." Current opinion in psychology 64 (February, 2025): 102022. [doi]  [abs]
• Tomasello, M. "The evolutionary psychology of syntax." Mind and Language (January, 2025). [doi]  [abs]

Curriculum Vitae