Daniel J. Povinelli became interested in studying the mental abilities of chimpanzees when he was 15 years old, after reading a popular article about their ability to recognize themselves in mirrors. His interests led him to receive an undergraduate degree in physical anthropology and zoology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1986, and a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1991. In 1991, he established a set of behavioral/psychological laboratories (the Center for Child Studies and the Laboratory of Comparative Behavioral Biology) at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to compare the intellectual abilities of humans and chimpanzees. With the support of the James S. McDonnell Foundation, in 1999 these laboratories were merged into the Cognitive Evolution Group. The Cognitive Evolution Group is dedicated to using rigorous, systematic behavioral/psychological studies of chimpanzees and human adults and children to help identify those aspects of the mind that both unify and distinguish human and chimpanzees cognition. Povinelli’s particular research efforts continue to explore his long-standing interest in the similarities and differences in how chimpanzees and humans understand the self, as well as similarities and differences in their understanding of unobservable mental and physical states and forces. Povinelli's research has been recognized by an American Psychological Association Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology, an NSF Young Investigator Award, and a Centennial Fellowship from the James S. McDonnell Foundation. He is a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and was recently named one of “20 Scientists to Watch in the Next 20 Years” by Discover magazine.
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