Paul L. Harris (born 14 May 1946) is a British

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

and academic specialising in child development. He is a professor at

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

Education

Harris earned a B.A. in Psychology from

Sussex University The University of Sussex is a public research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the South Downs National Park, and provide ...

and a D. Phil. in Psychology and Experimental Psychology from

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

Research

Since 2001 he has been a professor at

. His research focuses on how children use their imaginations, first-hand experience, and trust in what they're told, to understand the world.

Publications

* ''The Development of Psychological Understanding'', 1989. * ''Perspectives on the Child's Theory of Mind'', edited, 1991, with G.E. Butterworth, A.M. Leslie, et H.M. Wellman. * ''Children's Understanding of Emotions'' 1989, avec C. Saarni. * ''Developing Theories of Mind'' 1988 with J.W. Astington et D.R. Olson. * ''The Work of the Imagination'' 2000. * ''Imagining the Impossible: Magical, Scientific, and Religious Thinking in Children'', co-editor, 2000, with K. S. Rosengren et C. N. Johnson. * ''Trusting What You’re Told: How Children Learn from Others'', 2015.

Awards

* In 1998 he was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

. * In 2005 he was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

. * In 2006 he was made a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

. * In 2007 he was granted an honorary Doctorate from the University de Rennes. * In 2009 he was elected a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. * In 2014 he was awarded the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

Eleanor Maccoby Book Award in developmental psychology. * In 2015 he was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

References

Living people English psychologists 1946 births Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Association for Psychological Science Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Sussex Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters {{psychologist-stub