Jan Engelmann

Jan Engelmann
Associate Professor
Education: 
Ph.D., Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Research Area: 
Developmental
Laboratory: 
Social Origins Lab
Website: 
Social Origins Lab
Curriculum Vitae: 
PDF icon engelmann_cv_2025.pdf
Research Interests: 
comparative psychology, evolutionary psychology, developmental psychology
  • whatshotResearch Description

    We investigate the evolution of intelligence by studying cognition in both human and non-human animals. Our research program addresses three interrelated sets of questions: (1) What forms of intelligence do non-human animals exhibit? (2) In what ways is non-human intelligence similar to—or different from—human intelligence? (3) How do uniquely human cognitive abilities emerge during development?

    Our work follows two major lines of inquiry. One examines different kinds of reasoning, including inferential, causal, and modal reasoning. The other focuses on the foundations of collaboration, especially cooperative thinking and concepts of fairness. For recent highlights from our empirical and theoretical projects, please refer to the selected publications below.

  • placeSelected Publications

    Engelmann, J.M. & Tomasello, M. (2019) Children's sense of fairness as equal respect. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 23(6). 454-463.

    Engelmann, J.M., Haux, L.M., & Herrmann, E. (2019) Helping in young children and chimpanzees is partial toward friends. Evolution and Human Behavior. 40(3). 292-300.

    Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2018) Concern for group reputation increases prosociality in young children. Psychological Science. 29(2). 181-190

    Melis, A.P., Engelmann, J.M., & Warneken, F. (2018) Correspondence: Chimpanzee helping is real, not a byproduct. Nature Communications. 9.

    Engelmann, J.M. & Rapp, D.J. (2018) The influence of reputational concerns on children’s prosociality. Current Opinion in Psychology. 20. 92-95.

    Engelmann, J.M., Clift, J., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2017) Social disappointment explains chimpanzees’ behavior in the inequity aversion task. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 284(1861). 20171502.

    Engelmann J.M., Over, H., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2013) Young children care more about their reputation with ingroup members and potential reciprocators. Developmental Science. 16(6). 952-958.

  • filter_dramaTeaching