Paul L. Harris is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford University (1971) and specializes in cognitive, emotional, and imaginative development in children. His research examines how children evaluate testimony about domains like history, science, and religion, focusing on their trust in others' claims versus firsthand observation. Key publications include *Trusting What You're Told: How Children Learn from Others* (2012, Harvard UP), exploring children's reliance on testimony. His work spans developmental psychology, epistemology, and cultural learning. He has served on editorial boards for journals like *Child Development* and is a Fellow of the British Academy. Notable awards include the 2017 APS Mentor Award and the 2009 William Thierry Preyer Award. He is affiliated with the British Academy, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and the Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie. Currently retired from advising doctoral students, he remains active in research and publishing. Education: D.Phil. in Psychology, Oxford University (1971) Research Themes: Testimonial learning, imagination's role in cognition, moral development, cross-cultural emotional understanding Recent Work: Investigating children's skepticism of adult claims, the impact of religion on belief systems, and the development of empirical reasoning Grants & Fellowships: Recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship (2005) and Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (1992). Collaborates with institutions like the Living Laboratory® for museum-based research.
