Andrew Whiten

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Andrew Whiten

PhD in Psychology
Academic work
DisciplinePsychology
Sub-discipline
InstitutionsUniversity of St Andrews
Main interestsevolution of social cognition in human and non-human primates
WebsiteAndrew Whiten

David Andrew Whiten, known as Andrew Whiten (born 1948) is a British zoologist and psychologist, Professor of Evolutionary and Developmental Psychology, and Professor

autism and imitation, as well as the behavioral ecology of sociality.[3] In 1996, Whiten and his colleagues invented an artificial fruit that allowed to study learning in apes and humans.[4][5]

Personal life and education

Whiten was born in 1948 in

Career

Whiten started reading and lecturing at the University of St Andrews in 1970, joined the Department of Psychology in St Andrews in 1975, and became professor of evolutionary and developmental psychology in 1997.[1][3] Whiten was co-founder of the Scottish Primate Research Group.[3] In 2003, he founded the Centre for Social Learning and Cultural Evolution at the University of St Andrews.[1] 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.[2][7][3]

Research

Whiten is a pioneer in the study of

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.[8]

Fellowships

Whiten is member of the following learned societies:[9]

He was member of the

Editorial Board of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, from 2008 to 2013.[10] He additionally chaired the Research Awards Committee of the British Academy from 2011 to 2013.[1][9]

Awards and honors

Whiten was awarded the Delwart International Scientific Prize by the

Rivers Memorial Medal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (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.[1][12][13][9][14][15]

He was awarded an

honorary doctor of the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh in 2015, of the University of Stirling in 2016, and of the University of Edinburgh in 2016/2017.[12][16][17][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Professor Andrew Whiten. britac.ac.uk
  2. ^ a b Professor Andrew Whiten has been awarded the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Senior Prize and Medal for Public Engagement Archived 8 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine. st-andrews.ac.uk, April 17, 2015
  3. ^ a b c d e Professor Andrew Whiten: Osman Hill Memorial Lecturer, 2010 Archived 7 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine. In: Primate Eye. Primate Society of Great Britain. No. 102. October 2010. p. 3-4
  4. ^ Bruce Gilchrist: The descendants of Charles Gilchrist and Catherine Robinson: married in Boston, Lincolnshire, 1798. Gateway Press, 2004
  5. ^ Edinburgh becomes heart of monkey study business. The Guardian, November 9, 2004
  6. . Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Andrew Whiten". st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  8. ^ Andrew Whiten at royalsociety.org
  9. ^ News of Members[permanent dead link]. In: The Psychologist. Vol 15, No 2. February 2002
  10. ^ a b Andrew Whiten: Prizes. st-andrews.ac.uk
  11. ^ "Honorary Graduates". ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Award". st-andrews.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Andrew Whiten". Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  14. ^ Heriot-Watt University Honorary Graduates since 1966. hw.ac.uk
  15. ^ Honorary Graduates of the University of Stirling - Emeritus Professor Andrew Whiten. stir.ac.uk
  16. ^ Honorary graduates 2016/17. ed.ac.uk

Selected works

External links