Overview
Background
Thomas grew up in Germany and joined UQ in 1999 following postgraduate studies in New Zealand. He investigates the mental capacities in young children and in animals to answer fundamental questions about the nature and evolution of the human mind. His research has attracted several awards (incl. from the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, the Australian Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association) and his critically acclaimed book The Gap (e.g. see reviews in Nature, Science or the Wall Street Journal) is currently being translated into several languages.
Availability
- Professor Thomas Suddendorf is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Masters (Coursework), University of Waikato
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Auckland
Research impacts
In the news
BBC Radio 4 - All in the Mind, Time travelling in the human mind
BBC Future about the intelligence gap
Global Leadership Series Presentation
BBC Earth Many animals seem to kill themselves, but is it suicide?
Coverage of 2016 Current Biology paper on neonatal imitation covered by media such as Science Daily, NPR, ABC online, The Daily Mail, & The Conversation
Q & A with Thomas Suddendorf in Current Biology 2015
Radio and TV Featured frequently in media in the US, UK, Germany, and Australia, incl. radio (e.g., RN's Ockham's razor), TV (e.g., ABC what makes us human) and internet (e.g. TEDx talk)
Book reviews of THE GAP have appeared in e.g. Nature, The Wall Street Journal, Science, Scientific American Mind, The Times, Kirkus Reviews, Journal of the History of Biology, Australian Book Review, Times Higher Education & New Scientist.
Extracts: CNN, The Chronicles of Higher Education, HuffPo , Psychology Today, and Slate
Works
Search Professor Thomas Suddendorf’s works on UQ eSpace
2024
Journal Article
Die Macht der Voraussicht
Suddendorf, Thomas (2024). Die Macht der Voraussicht. Psychologie Heute, 9, 74-78.
2024
Conference Publication
Innovating for the future: When do children begin to recognise and manufacture solutions to future problems?
Ockerby, Zoe, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2024). Innovating for the future: When do children begin to recognise and manufacture solutions to future problems?. Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 24-27 July 2024. Santa Barbara, CA United States: The Regents of the University of California.
2024
Conference Publication
Children’s emerging ability to balance internal and external cognitive resources
Dicken, Lily S., Suddendorf, Thomas, Bulley, Adam, Irish, Muireann and Redshaw, Jonathan (2024). Children’s emerging ability to balance internal and external cognitive resources. Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 24-27 July 2024. Santa Barbara, CA United States: The Regents of the University of California.
2024
Book
Zdolność przewidywania. Jak odczytywanie przyszłości wpływa na nasze życie
Bulley, Adam, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2024). Zdolność przewidywania. Jak odczytywanie przyszłości wpływa na nasze życie. Liszki, Poland: Copernicus Center Press.
2024
Journal Article
Can chimpanzees conceive of mutually exclusive future possibilities? A Comment on: ‘Chimpanzees prepare for alternative possible outcomes’ (2023), by Engelmann <i>et al.</i>
Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2024). Can chimpanzees conceive of mutually exclusive future possibilities? A Comment on: ‘Chimpanzees prepare for alternative possible outcomes’ (2023), by Engelmann et al.. Biology Letters, 20 (6) ARTN 20230409, 20230409. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0409
2023
Other Outputs
Was sehen sie hier, Thomas Suddendorf
Suddendorf, Thomas (2023, 11 09). Was sehen sie hier, Thomas Suddendorf Psychologie Heute
2023
Journal Article
What are the odds? Preschoolers’ ability to distinguish between possible, impossible, and probabilistically distinct future outcomes
Crimston, Jessica, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2023). What are the odds? Preschoolers’ ability to distinguish between possible, impossible, and probabilistically distinct future outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 59 (10), 1881-1891. doi: 10.1037/dev0001587
2023
Journal Article
Counterfactual choices and moral judgments in children
Gautam, Shalini, Owen Hall, Ruby, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2023). Counterfactual choices and moral judgments in children. Child Development, 94 (5), e296-e307. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13943
2023
Journal Article
Consciousness beyond the human case
LeDoux, Joseph, Birch, Jonathan, Andrews, Kristin, Clayton, Nicola S., Daw, Nathaniel D., Frith, Chris, Lau, Hakwan, Peters, Megan A.K., Schneider, Susan, Seth, Anil, Suddendorf, Thomas and Vandekerckhove, Marie M.P. (2023). Consciousness beyond the human case. Current Biology, 33 (16), R832-R840. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.067
2023
Other Outputs
Foresight: The mental talent that shaped the world
Suddendorf, Thomas, Redshaw, Jon and Bulley, Adam (2023, 05 23). Foresight: The mental talent that shaped the world Jon Redshaw
2023
Journal Article
Creativity and flexibility in young children's use of external cognitive strategies
Armitage, Kristy L., Suddendorf, Thomas, Bulley, Adam, Bastos, Amalia P. M., Taylor, Alex H. and Redshaw, Jonathan (2023). Creativity and flexibility in young children's use of external cognitive strategies. Developmental Psychology, 59 (6), 995-1005. doi: 10.1037/dev0001562
2023
Journal Article
Driven by emotion: anticipated feelings motivate children’s deliberate practice
Brinums, Melissa, Franco, Camila, Kang, Jemima, Suddendorf, Thomas and Imuta, Kana (2023). Driven by emotion: anticipated feelings motivate children’s deliberate practice. Cognitive Development, 66 101340, 101340. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2023.101340
2023
Journal Article
The human mind is a virtual time machine
Suddendorf, Thomas and Bhattacharya, Shaoni (2023, 03 01). The human mind is a virtual time machine The Psychologist 60-62.
2022
Journal Article
Counterfactual thinking elicits emotional change in young children
Gautam, Shalini, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2022). Counterfactual thinking elicits emotional change in young children. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 377 (1866) 20210346, 1-8. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0346
2022
Journal Article
Archaeological evidence for thinking about possibilities in hominin evolution
Langley, Michelle C. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2022). Archaeological evidence for thinking about possibilities in hominin evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 377 (1866) 20210350, 1-11. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0350
2022
Other Outputs
Why the ability to imagine the future is at the heart of human nature – even if we often get it terribly wrong
Suddendorf, Thomas , Redshaw, Jonathan and Bulley, Adam (2022, 10 14). Why the ability to imagine the future is at the heart of human nature – even if we often get it terribly wrong The Globe and Mail
2022
Book
The invention of tomorrow: a natural history of foresight
Suddendorf, Thomas, Redshaw, Jonathan and Bulley, Adam (2022). The invention of tomorrow: a natural history of foresight. 1st ed. New York, NY, United States: Basic Books.
2022
Journal Article
Affective forecasting in Parkinson’s disease
Coundouris, Sarah P., Henry, Julie D., Suddendorf, Thomas and Lehn, Alexander C. (2022). Affective forecasting in Parkinson’s disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 29 (4), 1-4. doi: 10.1017/s1355617722000388
2022
Journal Article
Young children spontaneously devise an optimal external solution to a cognitive problem
Armitage, Kristy L., Taylor, Alex H., Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2022). Young children spontaneously devise an optimal external solution to a cognitive problem. Developmental Science, 25 (3) e13204, 1-9. doi: 10.1111/desc.13204
2022
Book Chapter
Anticipation of future events
Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2022). Anticipation of future events. Encyclopedia of animal cognition and behavior. (pp. 349-358) Cham, Switzerland: Springer Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1082
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Thomas Suddendorf is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Innovation: When do children recognise future utility?
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Redshaw
-
Doctor Philosophy
Gaining control of the future: The Cognitive Development of Foresight
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Redshaw
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the understanding of probability and plausible deniability in young children and primates
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Redshaw
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Impact of Intergroup Violence on the Evolution of Human Psychology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Brendan Zietsch
Completed supervision
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Imagining Past, Present and Future Possibilities: A Developmental Perspective
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Redshaw, Professor Julie Henry
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
The role of prospective cognition in human decision-making: proximate and ultimate perspectives
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Julie Henry
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
The nature, ontogeny, and phylogeny of episodic foresight
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mark Nielsen
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the Neurological Processes Involved in Visual Self-recognition Using Mirrors, Photographs, Non-identical Twins, and Hominoid Comparative Neuroanatomy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jason Mattingley, Professor Ross Cunnington
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Inferential reasoning by exclusion in non-human primates and children
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mark Nielsen
-
2006
Doctor Philosophy
INVISIBLE DISPLACEMENT UNDERSTANDING IN DOGS (Canis familiaris), CHIPANZEES (Pan troglodytes), AND OTHER PRIMATES
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mark Nielsen
-
2005
Doctor Philosophy
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MENTAL TIME TRAVEL
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Virginia Slaughter
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Beyond the naked mind: The nature and development of cognitive offloading in children
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Redshaw
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Not Just a Movement Disorder: Prospective and Social Cognitive Impairments in Parkinson's Disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Julie Henry
-
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Measuring perception with confidence
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Derek Arnold
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
The development and evolution of tool innovation in human children (Homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): a cross-cultural and comparative investigation
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mark Nielsen
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Episodic Foresight in Ageing and Clinical Groups
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Julie Henry
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the Mechanism and Function of Neonatal Imitation From a Longitudinal Perspective
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Virginia Slaughter
-
2005
Doctor Philosophy
EMERGENCE OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE HUMAN BODY SHAPE IN INFANCY
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Virginia Slaughter
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Thomas Suddendorf directly for media enquiries about:
- Brain and cognition
- Brain development
- Brain evolution
- Children and cognition
- Cognition
- Cognition - developmental perspectives
- Development and cognition
- Evolution and brain cognition
- Human development and cognition
- Psychology - cognition
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