Professor Cecilia Heyes
Professor of Psychology, University of Oxford
BSc, MA, PhD, FBA
Senior Research Fellow since 2008
I am a psychologist interested in the evolution of human cognition. My work explores how natural selection, learning, developmental and cultural processes combine to produce the mature cognitive abilities found in adult humans. I am especially interested in social cognition, including social learning, imitation, theory of mind and metacognition.
Contact:cecilia.heyes@all-souls.ox.ac.uk
- Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College (from 2008)
- Professor of Psychology, University College London (from 2000 to 2008)
- Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader, University College London (from 1988 to 2000)
- Research Fellow, Trinity Hall, Cambridge (from 1986 to 1989)
- Harkness Fellow (from 1984 to 1986)
- Undergraduate and Postgraduate, University College London (from 1978 to 1984)
- Evolution of human cognition
- Social cognition
- Imitation
- Heyes, C. M. & Catmur, C. (2022) What happened to mirror neurons? Perspectives on Psychological Science,17,153-168.
- Heyes, C. M., Bang, D., Shea, N., Frith, C. D. & Fleming, S., M. (2020) Knowing ourselves together: the cultural origins of metacognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 24, 349-362
- Heyes, C. M. (2018). Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking. Harvard University Press
- Heyes, C. M. (2016). Who knows? Metacognitive social learning strategies. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20,204-213.
- (with Frith), 'The cultural evolution of mind reading', Science, 344 (2014), 1243091. DOI: 10.1126/science.1243091
- (with Cook, Bird, Catmur, and Press) 'Mirror neurons: from origin to function', Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 37 (2014), 177-241.
- 'Automatic imitation', Psychological Bulletin 137 (2011), 463-483.
- (with Catmur, C. and Walsh, V.), 'Sensorimotor learning configures the human mirror system', Current Biology 17 (2007), 1527-31.
- 'Four routes of cognitive evolution', Psychological Review 110 (2003), 713-727.
- 'Theory of mind in nonhuman primates', Behavioral and Brain Sciences 21 (1998), 101-114.
- 'Social learning in animals: Categories and mechanisms', Biological Reviews 69 (1994), 207-231.
- Honorary Professor, University College London (from 2008)
- President of the Experimental Psychology Society (2018-2020)
- Fellow of the British Academy, Psychology (since 2010) and Philosophy (since 2015) Sections.
- Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society (since 2019)
- Postgraduate research methods in psychology and cognitive neuroscience
- Grants for major research projects from: the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (1994-2001, and 2004-2007); the Economic and Social Research Council (1995-1997, and 2005-2010); the Engineering and Physical sciences Research Council (2008-2011); the European Commission (2005-2008); the Medical Research Council (1991-1994); the Leverhulme Trust (1990-1993).
- Broadbent Lecturer, British Psychological Society (2004).
- Cognitive Section Prize, British Psychological Society (2004).
- Gibson Lecture, Cornell University (2012).
- Chandaria Lecturer, Institute of Philosophy, University of London (2018)
- Rudolf Carnap Lecturer, Philosophy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum (2022)