Professor Thomas Suddendorf
Professor

Thomas Suddendorf

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 58341

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

Cognitive and computational psychology Psychology

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

Reddit Ask Me Anything 2016

Zeitzeichen Article in German

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

Search Professor Thomas Suddendorf’s works on UQ eSpace

191 works between 1994 and 2025
All (191) Journal Article (144) Book Chapter (20) Conference Publication (11) Book (4) Other Outputs (12)

121 - 140 of 191 works

2011

Journal Article

Evolution, lies, and foresight biases

Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). Evolution, lies, and foresight biases. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 34 (1), 38-39. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X10002128

Evolution, lies, and foresight biases

2011

Journal Article

Inferential reasoning by exclusion in great apes, lesser apes, and spider monkeys

Hill, Andrew, Collier-Baker, Emma and Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). Inferential reasoning by exclusion in great apes, lesser apes, and spider monkeys. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 125 (1), 91-103. doi: 10.1037/a0020867

Inferential reasoning by exclusion in great apes, lesser apes, and spider monkeys

2011

Journal Article

An obedient orangutan (Pongo abelii) performs perfectly in peripheral object-choice tasks but fails the standard centrally presented versions

Mulcahy, Nicholas J. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). An obedient orangutan (Pongo abelii) performs perfectly in peripheral object-choice tasks but fails the standard centrally presented versions. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 125 (1), 112-115. doi: 10.1037/a0020905

An obedient orangutan (Pongo abelii) performs perfectly in peripheral object-choice tasks but fails the standard centrally presented versions

2011

Book Chapter

Mirror self-recognition on Earth

Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). Mirror self-recognition on Earth. Consciousness and the universe: quantum physics, evolution, brain & mind. (pp. 782-787) edited by Roger Penrose, Stuart Hameroff and Subhash Kak. Cambridge, MA, United States: Cosmology Science Publishers.

Mirror self-recognition on Earth

2011

Book Chapter

Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind

Suddendorf, Thomas, Addis, Donna Rose and Corballis, Michael C. (2011). Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind. Predictions in the brain: using our past to generate a future. (pp. 344-354) edited by Moshe Bar. New York, United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395518.003.0121

Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind

2011

Journal Article

Children's capacity to remember a novel problem and to secure its future solution

Suddendorf, Thomas, Nielsen, Mark and von Gehlen, Rebecca (2011). Children's capacity to remember a novel problem and to secure its future solution. Developmental Science, 14 (1), 26-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00950.x

Children's capacity to remember a novel problem and to secure its future solution

2010

Journal Article

Behavioural evidence for mental time travel in nonhuman animals

Suddendorf, T and Corballis, MC (2010). Behavioural evidence for mental time travel in nonhuman animals. Behavioural Brain Research, 215 (2), 292-298. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.11.044

Behavioural evidence for mental time travel in nonhuman animals

2010

Journal Article

Young children's ability to distinguish past and future changes in physical and mental states

Grant, JB and Suddendorf, T (2010). Young children's ability to distinguish past and future changes in physical and mental states. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28 (4), 853-870. doi: 10.1348/026151009X482930

Young children's ability to distinguish past and future changes in physical and mental states

2010

Journal Article

Delayed video self-recognition in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's disorder

Dissanayake, Cheryl, Shembrey, Joh and Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). Delayed video self-recognition in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's disorder. Autism, 14 (5), 495-508. doi: 10.1177/1362361310366569

Delayed video self-recognition in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's disorder

2010

Journal Article

Delayed video self-recognition in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's disorder

Dissanayake, C, Shembrey, J and Suddendorf, T (2010). Delayed video self-recognition in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's disorder. Autism, 14 (5), 495-508. doi: 10.1177/1362361310366569

Delayed video self-recognition in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's disorder

2010

Journal Article

Linking yesterday and tomorrow: Preschoolers' ability to report temporally displaced events

Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). Linking yesterday and tomorrow: Preschoolers' ability to report temporally displaced events. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28 (2), 491-498. doi: 10.1348/026151009X479169

Linking yesterday and tomorrow: Preschoolers' ability to report temporally displaced events

2010

Book Chapter

The evolution of concepts: a timely look

Corballis, Michael C. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). The evolution of concepts: a timely look. The making of human concepts. (pp. 365-386) edited by Denis Marshal, Paul C. Quinn and S. E. G. Lea. New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549221.003.17

The evolution of concepts: a timely look

2010

Conference Publication

Animal innovation: a window into design thinking

Dong, Andy, Collier-Baker, Emma and Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). Animal innovation: a window into design thinking. Design Thinking Research Symposium 8, Sydney, Australia, 19-20 October 2010. Sydney, Australia: DAB documents.

Animal innovation: a window into design thinking

2010

Journal Article

Episodic memory versus episodic foresight: Similarities and differences

Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). Episodic memory versus episodic foresight: Similarities and differences. Cognitive Science, 1 (1), 99-107. doi: 10.1002/wcs.23

Episodic memory versus episodic foresight: Similarities and differences

2009

Journal Article

Episodic memory versus episodic foresight: similarities and differences

Suddendorf, Thomas (2009). Episodic memory versus episodic foresight: similarities and differences. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 1 (1), 99-107. doi: 10.1002/wcs.23

Episodic memory versus episodic foresight: similarities and differences

2009

Journal Article

Preschoolers begin to differentiate the times of events from throughout the lifespan

Grant, Janie Busby and Suddendorf, Thomas (2009). Preschoolers begin to differentiate the times of events from throughout the lifespan. European Journal of Development Psychology, 6 (6), 746-762. doi: 10.1080/17405620802102947

Preschoolers begin to differentiate the times of events from throughout the lifespan

2009

Journal Article

How great is great ape foresight?

Suddendorf, Thomas, Corballis, Michael C. and Collier-Baker, Emma (2009). How great is great ape foresight?. Animal Cognition, 12 (5), 751-754. doi: 10.1007/s10071-009-0253-9

How great is great ape foresight?

2009

Journal Article

The evolution of primate visual self-recognition: evidence of absence in lesser apes

Suddendorf, Thomas and Collier-Baker, Emma (2009). The evolution of primate visual self-recognition: evidence of absence in lesser apes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 276 (1662), 1671-1677. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2008.1754

The evolution of primate visual self-recognition: evidence of absence in lesser apes

2009

Journal Article

Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind

Suddendorf, Thomas, Addis, Donna Rose and Corballis, Michael C. (2009). Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 364 (1521), 1317-1324. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0301

Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind

2008

Journal Article

New evidence for animal foresight?

Suddendorf, Thomas and Corballis, Michael C. (2008). New evidence for animal foresight?. Animal Behaviour, 75 (5), e1-e3. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.01.006

New evidence for animal foresight?

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2027
    Mapping children's foresight capacities
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2021 - 2024
    Gaining control of the future: The cognitive development of foresight
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2016
    Episodic foresight and ageing
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2012
    Enhancing Realism in Psychological Research.
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2013
    Charting the prevalence, time course and social-cognitive correlates of neonatal imitation.
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    Thinking about the future: The nature and development of mental time travel
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2007
    Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes.
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2005
    NHMRC_Equipment Grant = Refurbishment and equipment for Early Cognitive Development Unit and Video equipment for cognitive testing of children, adolescents and adults
    NHMRC Equipment Grant
    Open grant
  • 2002 - 2004
    The nature of self-recognition: novel approaches to vexing questions
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 1999
    The development of concepts of self and time - investigations with digitized feedback
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Thomas Suddendorf is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

  • 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 possibility and probability in young children and primates

    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

    Recognising the future utility of a solution: A foresight perspective on the development of innovation in children

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Redshaw

  • 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

    Mechanisms and functions of reasoning about possibilities

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Julie Henry, 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

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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