Andrew Whiten
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David Andrew Whiten, known as Andrew Whiten (born 1948) is a British zoologist and psychologist, Professor of Evolutionary and Developmental Psychology, and Professor Wardlaw
Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...
at
University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
in Scotland.Professor Andrew Whiten
britac.ac.uk
''Professor Andrew Whiten has been awarded the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Senior Prize and Medal for Public Engagement''
. st-andrews.ac.uk, April 17, 2015
He is known for his research in social cognition, specifically on social learning,
tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...
and the evolution of
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
, social Machiavellian intelligence,
autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
and
imitation Imitation (from Latin ''imitatio'', "a copying, imitation") is a behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior. Imitation is also a form of learning that leads to the "development of traditions, and ultimately our cu ...
, as well as the behavioral ecology of
sociality Sociality is the degree to which individuals in an animal population tend to associate in social groups (gregariousness) and form cooperative societies. Sociality is a survival response to evolutionary pressures. For example, when a mother ...
.''Professor Andrew Whiten: Osman Hill Memorial Lecturer, 2010''
. In: Primate Eye. Primate Society of Great Britain. No. 102. October 2010. p. 3-4
In 1996, Whiten and his colleagues invented an artificial fruit that allowed to study learning in apes and humans.


Personal life and education

Whiten was born in 1948 in
Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. He graduated with a degree in
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
from the
University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...
and achieved a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in
Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
at the
University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
.


Career

Whiten started reading and lecturing at the
University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
in 1970, joined the Department of Psychology in St Andrews in 1975, and became professor of
evolutionary Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certa ...
and
developmental psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...
in 1997. Whiten was co-founder of the Scottish Primate Research Group. In 2003, he founded the Centre for Social Learning and Cultural Evolution at the University of St Andrews. He also was founder and first director of the primate research center ''Living Links to Human Evolution'' (short: ''Living Links'') that opened 2008 in Edinburgh Zoo and draws more than 250,000 visitors per year.


Research

Whiten is a pioneer in the study of
cultural evolution Cultural evolution is an evolutionary theory of social change. It follows from the definition of culture as "information capable of affecting individuals' behavior that they acquire from other members of their species through teaching, imitation ...
in chimpanzees and other primates, studying them for decades. He has demonstrated the existence of traditions in primate culture in areas such as foraging, tool use and courtship. He has also shown that it is possible to introduce new traditions, by teaching primates in different groups different methods for getting a treat from a box. The first two chimps taught others, who almost always learned the method used first in their group. In another study, vervet monkeys which had learned to avoid grains of corn of a particular color (flavored by a bitter taste) relearned their color preferences for food once they became part of another group with different preferences. Such transmission chain studies have shown cultural learning between individuals in at least 20 different species. The ability to learn from others is particularly important for adaptability under changing conditions such as
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
.


Fellowships

Whiten is member of the following
learned societies A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...
: *
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
since 2000 *
British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the org ...
since 2000 *
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
since 2001 * Cognitive Science Society since 2013 He was member of the
Editorial Board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...
of the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...
, Biological Sciences, from 2008 to 2013. He additionally chaired the Research Awards Committee of the British Academy from 2011 to 2013.


Awards and honors

Whiten was awarded the Delwart International Scientific Prize by the
Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is a non-governmental association that promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies su ...
in 2001, the
Rivers Memorial Medal The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
of the
Royal Anthropological Institute The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
(RAI), and the Osman Hill Medal of the Primate Society of Great Britain in 2007. He is the first and only scientist who was awarded both, the Sir James Black Medal (in 2014) and the Senior Prize and Medal for Public Engagement (in 2015) by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.Andrew Whiten: Prizes
st-andrews.ac.uk
He was awarded an honorary doctor of the
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...
in Edinburgh in 2015, of the
University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...
in 2016, and of the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
in 2016/2017.Honorary graduates 2016/17
ed.ac.uk


References


Selected works

* * * * * * * * * A. Whiten, Richard W. Byrne (ed.): ''Machiavellian intelligence. Social expertise and the evolution of intellect in monkeys, apes, and humans'', 1988.


External links



at the University of St Andrews
Andrew Whiten
at the British Academy
Andrew Whiten
at
ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education' ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiten, Andrew 1948 births Living people British psychologists British zoologists Fellows of the Cognitive Science Society Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the British Psychological Society Alumni of the University of Sheffield