معرفی
Herbert Terrace is a Professor of Psychology at Columbia University, where he directs the Primate Cognition Lab within the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on animal cognition, particularly primate cognition and the evolution of language.
Dr. Terrace received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1961. His academic journey has been dedicated to understanding cognitive processes that do not require language, with a particular focus on rhesus monkeys' ability to learn serial tasks, numerical sequences, and social learning paradigms.
His research interests span across animal cognition, cognitive psychology, primate cognition, and the evolution of language. Dr. Terrace has made significant contributions to understanding how non-human primates process numerical information, learn through observation, and develop cognitive skills that may represent precursors to human language. His work on the evolution of intelligence examines cognitive processes that can be performed without language, providing insights into what language adds to those fundamental cognitive abilities. Notably, he has written extensively on the evolution of language, particularly in his 2019 book "Why Chimpanzees Can't Learn Language and Only Humans Can," where he argues that separating the evolution of language into the origin of words and the origins of grammar makes an intractable problem more manageable.
Dr. Terrace has taught courses including Evolution of Intelligence and Consciousness, Evolution of Cognition, and Evolution of Language at Columbia University. His laboratory, the Primate Cognition Lab, devises experiments where monkeys interact with touch-sensitive computer screens to earn food rewards, allowing researchers to analyze their cognitive performance and understand the pre-linguistic origins of human cognition.
Among his notable scientific contributions are the development of the simultaneous chaining methodology for studying serial learning in animals, groundbreaking work on numerical cognition in non-human primates, and research on cognitive imitation that has implications for understanding autism spectrum disorders. His research has been published in top journals including Science, Nature, and Psychological Science.
Dr. Terrace has mentored numerous researchers in the field of comparative cognition and has directed the Primate Cognition Lab at Columbia University for many years. His work continues to influence our understanding of the cognitive capabilities of non-human primates and their relevance to human cognitive evolution.
