Leda Cosmides Explained

Leda Cosmides
Birth Date:9 May 1957
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Known For:Evolutionary psychology

Leda Cosmides (born May 1957) is an American psychologist, who, together with anthropologist husband John Tooby, pioneered the field of evolutionary psychology.

Biography

Cosmides was born into a Greek family.[1] Her parents, George Cosmides and Nasia Cosmides (née Murlas), founded the St George Greek Orthodox Church in Bethesda, Maryland.[2]

Cosmides originally studied biology at Radcliffe College/Harvard University, receiving her BA in 1979. While an undergraduate, she was influenced by the renowned evolutionary biologist Robert L. Trivers, who was her advisor. In 1985, Cosmides received a PhD in cognitive psychology from Harvard. After completing postdoctoral work under Roger Shepard at Stanford University, she joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1991, becoming a full professor in 2000.

In 1992, together with Tooby and Jerome Barkow, Cosmides edited The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture. She and Tooby also co-founded and co-direct the Center for Evolutionary Psychology.

Cosmides was awarded the 1988 American Association for the Advancement of Science Prize for Behavioral Science Research,[3] the 1993 American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the 2005 National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award, and the 2020 Jean Nicod Prize. In 2023 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[4]

Selected publications

Books

Papers

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Obituary for George James Cosmides . 2023-04-18 . Greek Obituary . en.
  2. Web site: George Cosmides Obituary (2017) - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara News-Press . 2023-04-18 . Legacy.com.
  3. Web site: History & Archives: AAAS Prize for Behavioral Science Research . 2013-05-30 . 2020-08-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200801055645/http://archives.aaas.org/awards.php?a_id=24 . dead .
  4. Web site: Jean-Nicod Lectures and Prize 2020. 2021-08-16. Institut Jean Nicod.