Marc D. Hauser
Professor of Psychology
Phone: 617-496-7077
E-mail:
Office: 980 WJH, 33 Kirkland Street
Website: http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/mnkylab/
Our research sits at the interface between evolutionary biology and cognitive neuroscience and is aimed at understanding the processes and consequences of cognitive evolution. Observations and experiments focus on brids, monkeys, apes and humans, incorporating methodological procedures and theoretical insights from behavioral ecology, infant cognitive development, evolutionary theory, cognitive neuroscience, biological anthropology, economics, linguistics and philosophy. Research opportunities including captive and field (Congo, Puerto Rico) studies of primates, as well as neuroimaging and patient-based populations of humans. Current foci include: the nature of our moral judgments, the computations subserving our language faculty, the evolution of cooperation, economic decision making, conceptual representations in the domains of mathematics, space, language and music, and animal communication.
Recent Publications
Gil-da-Costa, R., Braun, A., Lopes, M., Hauser, M.D., Carson, R.E., Herscovitch, P. & Martin, A. (2004). Toward an evolutionary perspective on conceptual representation: species-specific calls activate visual and affective processing systems in the macaque. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101: 17516-17521.
Palleroni, A., Miller, C.T., Hauser, M.D., & Marler, P. (2005). Speed kills: hunting strategies in peregrine falcons and adaptive colouration in pigeons. Nature.
Koenigs, M., Young, L., Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., Cushman, F., Hauser, M.D., & Damasio, A. (2007). Damage to the prefrontal cortex increases utilitarian moral judgments. Nature 446: 908-911.
Young, L., Cushman, F., Hauser, M.D., & Saxe, R., (2007). The neural basis of the interaction between theory of mind and moral judgment. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci 104: 8235-8240.
Egnor, R.E., Wickelgren, J.G. & Hauser, M.D. (in press). Tracking silence: adjusting vocal production to avoid acoustic interference. J. Comp. Physiol. A. 193: 477-483.
Wood, J.N., Glynn, D., Phillips, B.C. & Hauser, M.D. (in press). The perception of rational action in nonhuman primates. Science.
Hauser, M.D. (2006). Moral minds: How nature designed a universal sense of right and wrong. New York, Harper Collins; London, Time Warner.
Courses Taught
Sci B-29: Evolution of Human Nature
PSY 1152: Cognitive Evolution Seminar
MBB 152: Consumable Science
MBB 151: Evolving Human Nature (with R. Wrangham, Anthropology)
