School of Psychology

Professor Thomas Suddendorf

Professor
School of Psychology
+61 7 336 58341
McElwain Building (24A)
Level 4, Room 455
View researcher profile

Researcher biography

Thomas grew up in Germany and joined UQ in 1999 following postgraduate studies in New Zealand. He investigates the mental capacities in young children and in animals to answer fundamental questions about the nature and evolution of the human mind. His research has attracted several awards (incl. from the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, the Australian Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association) and his critically acclaimed books The Gap (e.g. see reviews in Nature, Science or the Wall Street Journal) and The Invention of Tomorrow (A Nature Book Reviews Best Science Pick) have been translated into several languages.

Publications

Books (4)
Book Chapters (20)
Journal Articles (146)
Conference Papers (12)
Audio Document (1)
Newspaper Articles (13)
Theses (2)

Books

Bulley, Adam, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2024). Zdolność przewidywania. Jak odczytywanie przyszłości wpływa na nasze życie. Liszki, Poland: Copernicus Center Press.
Suddendorf, Thomas, Redshaw, Jonathan and Bulley, Adam (2022). The invention of tomorrow: a natural history of foresight. 1st ed. New York, NY, United States: Basic Books.
Suddendorf, Thomas, Steckhan, Barbara, Jendricke, Bernhard and Gockle, Gabriele (2014). Der Unterschied: Was den Mensch zum Menschen macht. Berlin, Germany: Berlin Verlag.
Suddendorf, Thomas (2013). The gap: the science of what separates us from other animals. New York, NY, United States: Basic Books.

Book Chapters

Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2022). Anticipation of future events. Encyclopedia of animal cognition and behavior. (pp. 349-358) Cham, Switzerland: Springer Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1082
von Hippel, William, von Hippel, Frank and Suddendorf, Thomas (2021). Evolutionary foundations of social psychology. Social psychology: handbook of basic principles . (pp. 5-22) edited by Paul van Lange, Tory Higgins and Arie Kruglanski. New York, NY USA: Guilford Press.
Suddendorf, Thomas (2020). An evolutionary perspective on mental time travel. The Oxford Handbook of Psychology of Time Travel and Temporality. (pp. 1-27) edited by Frederick M.E. Grouzet. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190256685.013.12
Bulley, Adam, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2020). The future-directed functions of the imagination: from prediction to metaforesight. The Cambridge handbook of the imagination. (pp. 425-444) edited by Anna Abraham. New York, NY, United States: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108580298.026
Suddendorf, Thomas (2019). Die Entwicklung des Unterschieds. Was den Mensch zum besonderen Tier macht. Entwicklung als kinder- und jugendmedizinische Besonderheit. (pp. 10-12) edited by Klaus Rodens. Koeln, Germany: Berufverband der Kinder- und Jugendarzte.
Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2017). Anticipation of future events. Encyclopedia of animal cognition and behavior. (pp. 1-9) Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1082-1
Suddendorf, Thomas, Brinums, Melissa and Imuta, Kana (2016). Shaping one's future self: the development of deliberate practice. Seeing the future: theoretical perspectives on future-oriented mental time travel. (pp. 343-366) edited by Kourken Michaelian, Stanley B. Klein and Karl K. Szpunar. New York, United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190241537.003.0017
Suddendorf, Thomas (2016). Die Natur und Erstehung der Kluft zwischen Mensch und Tier. Der Mensch, ein Tier? Das Tier, ein Mensch?. (pp. 55-61) edited by Johannes Weinzirl and Peter Heusser. Wuerzburg, Germany: Verlag Konigshausen & Neumann.
Suddendorf, Thomas (2014). Uniquely human. The Best Australian Science Writing. (pp. 180-187) edited by Ashley Hay. Sydney, NSW, Australia: NewSouth.
Suddendorf, Thomas and Dong, Andy (2013). On the evolution of imagination and design. Oxford handbook on the development of imagination. (pp. 453-467) edited by Marjorie Taylor. New York, NY, United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195395761.013.0029
Suddendorf, Thomas (2012). The Rise of the Metamind. The Descent of Mind: Psychological Perspectives on Hominid Evolution. (pp. 218-260) edited by Michael Corballis and Stephen E. G. Lea. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192632593.003.0012
Suddendorf, Thomas, Addis, Donna Rose and Corballis, Michael C. (2011). Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind. Predictions in the brain: using our past to generate a future. (pp. 344-354) edited by Moshe Bar. New York, United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195395518.003.0121
Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). Mirror self-recognition on Earth. Consciousness and the universe: quantum physics, evolution, brain & mind. (pp. 782-787) edited by Roger Penrose, Stuart Hameroff and Subhash Kak. Cambridge, MA, United States: Cosmology Science Publishers.
Corballis, Michael C. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). The evolution of concepts: a timely look. The making of human concepts. (pp. 365-386) edited by Denis Marshal, Paul C. Quinn and S. E. G. Lea. New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199549221.003.17
Suddendorf, Thomas and Corballis, M. C. (2008). Episodic memory and mental time travel. Handbook of Episodic Memory. (pp. 31-42) edited by Dere, K., Easton, A., Nadel, L. and Huston, J.. Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/S1569-7339(08)00203-8
Corballis, M. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2007). Memory, Time, and Language. What makes us human?. (pp. 17-36) edited by Pasternak, C.. United Kingdom: Oneworld Publications.
Whiten, Andrew and Suddendorf, Thomas (2007). Great ape cognition and the evolutionary roots of human imagination. Imaginative Minds. (pp. 31-59) edited by Ilona Roth. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.5871/bacad/9780197264195.003.0002
Nielsen, M. G., Suddendorf, T. and Dissanayake, C. (2006). Imitation and self-recogntion in autism: In search of an explanation. Imitation and the Social Mind: Autism and Typical Development. (pp. 138-197) edited by S.J. Rogers and J.H.G. Williams. New York, NY United States: The Guilford Press.
Suddendorf, Thomas and Whiten, Andrew (2003). Reinterpreting the Mentality of Apes. From Mating to Mentality: Evaluating Evolutionary Psychology. (pp. 173-196) edited by K. Sterelny and J. Fitness. New York: Psychology Press. doi: 10.4324/9780203484708
Suddendorf, T. (2001). A developmental link between the production of gestural representation and understanding of mental representation. Theory in Context and Out. (pp. 217-231) edited by S. Reifel. Westport, Connecticut: Ablex Publishing.

Journal Articles

Crimston, Jessica, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2026). Children’s understanding of conditional probabilities. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 262 106370, 106370. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2025.106370
Crimston, Jessica, Tonga, Sue, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2025). Gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys), siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus), and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) account for proportional probabilities in a two-choice task. Journal of Comparative Psychology. doi: 10.1037/com0000437
Ockerby, Zoe, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2025). Young children’s understanding of future utility: a series of vignette tasks. International Journal of Behavioral Development 01650254251344596. doi: 10.1177/01650254251344596
Ockerby, Zoe, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2025). Recognizing the future utility of a solution: when do children choose to retain and share an object to solve a future problem?. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 43 (4), 958-973. doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12566
Ockerby, Zoe, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2025). A key to innovation: when do children begin to recognize and manufacture solutions to future problems?. Developmental Psychology. doi: 10.1037/dev0001926
Dicken, Lily, Suddendorf, Thomas, Bulley, Adam, Irish, Muireann and Redshaw, Jonathan (2024). Children's emerging ability to balance internal and external cognitive resources. Child Development, 96 (2), 1-10. doi: 10.1111/cdev.14205
Gautam, Shalini, Nguyen, Giang, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2024). Does the tendency to overestimate future emotions motivate practice in young children?. Cognitive Development, 72 101515. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2024.101515
Suddendorf, Thomas (2024). Die Macht der Voraussicht. Psychologie Heute, 2024 (9), 74-78.
Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2024). Can chimpanzees conceive of mutually exclusive future possibilities? A Comment on: ‘Chimpanzees prepare for alternative possible outcomes’ (2023), by Engelmann et al.. Biology Letters, 20 (6) 20230409, 20230409. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0409
Crimston, Jessica, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2023). What are the odds? Preschoolers’ ability to distinguish between possible, impossible, and probabilistically distinct future outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 59 (10), 1881-1891. doi: 10.1037/dev0001587
Gautam, Shalini, Owen Hall, Ruby, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2023). Counterfactual choices and moral judgments in children. Child Development, 94 (5), e296-e307. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13943
LeDoux, Joseph, Birch, Jonathan, Andrews, Kristin, Clayton, Nicola S., Daw, Nathaniel D., Frith, Chris, Lau, Hakwan, Peters, Megan A.K., Schneider, Susan, Seth, Anil, Suddendorf, Thomas and Vandekerckhove, Marie M.P. (2023). Consciousness beyond the human case. Current Biology, 33 (16), R832-R840. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.067
Armitage, Kristy L., Suddendorf, Thomas, Bulley, Adam, Bastos, Amalia P. M., Taylor, Alex H. and Redshaw, Jonathan (2023). Creativity and flexibility in young children's use of external cognitive strategies. Developmental Psychology, 59 (6), 995-1005. doi: 10.1037/dev0001562
Brinums, Melissa, Franco, Camila, Kang, Jemima, Suddendorf, Thomas and Imuta, Kana (2023). Driven by emotion: anticipated feelings motivate children’s deliberate practice. Cognitive Development, 66 101340, 101340. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2023.101340
Langley, Michelle C. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2022). Archaeological evidence for thinking about possibilities in hominin evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 377 (1866) 20210350, 1-11. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0350
Gautam, Shalini, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2022). Counterfactual thinking elicits emotional change in young children. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 377 (1866) 20210346, 1-8. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0346
Coundouris, Sarah P., Henry, Julie D., Suddendorf, Thomas and Lehn, Alexander C. (2022). Affective forecasting in Parkinson’s disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 29 (4) PII S1355617722000388, 1-4. doi: 10.1017/s1355617722000388
Armitage, Kristy L., Taylor, Alex H., Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2022). Young children spontaneously devise an optimal external solution to a cognitive problem. Developmental Science, 25 (3) e13204, 1-9. doi: 10.1111/desc.13204
Boeckle, M., Schiestl, M., Frohnwieser, A., Gruber, R., Miller, R., Suddendorf, T., Gray, R. D., Taylor, A. H. and Clayton, N. S. (2021). New Caledonian crows' planning behaviour: a reply to de Mahy et al . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288 (1958) 20211271, 20211271. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1271
Gallagher, Regan M., Suddendorf, Thomas and Arnold, Derek H. (2021). The implied motion aftereffect changes decisions, but not confidence. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 83 (8), 3047-3055. doi: 10.3758/s13414-021-02331-z
Varley, Deanna, Henry, Julie D., Gibson, Emily, Suddendorf, Thomas, Rendell, Peter G. and Redshaw, Jonathan (2021). An old problem revisited: How sensitive is time-based prospective memory to age-related differences?. Psychology and Aging, 36 (5), 616-625. doi: 10.1037/pag0000625
Brinums, Melissa, Redshaw, Jonathan, Nielsen, Mark, Suddendorf, Thomas and Imuta, Kana (2021). Young children’s capacity to seek information in preparation for a future event. Cognitive Development, 58 101015, 101015. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101015
Davis, Jacqueline, Redshaw, Jonathan, Suddendorf, Thomas, Nielsen, Mark, Kennedy-Costantini, Siobhan, Oostenbroek, Janine and Slaughter, Virginia (2021). Does neonatal imitation exist? Insights from a meta-analysis of 336 effect sizes. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16 (6), 1745691620959834-1397. doi: 10.1177/1745691620959834
Gautam, Shalini, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2021). When can young children reason about an exclusive disjunction? A follow up to Mody and Carey (2016). Cognition, 207 104507, 104507. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104507
Gautam, Shalini, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2021). Do monkeys and young children understand exclusive “or” relations? A commentary on Ferrigno et al. (2021). Psychological Science, 32 (11), 1865-1867. doi: 10.1177/09567976211024641
Boeckle, M., Schiestl, M., Frohnwieser, A., Gruber, R., Miller, R., Suddendorf, T., Gray, R. D., Taylor, A. H. and Clayton, N. S. (2020). New Caledonian crows plan for specific future tool use. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological sciences, 287 (1938) 1490, 20201490. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1490
Suddendorf, Thomas, Kirkland, Kelly, Bulley, Adam, Redshaw, Jonathan and Langley, Michelle C. (2020). It's in the bag: Mobile containers in Human Evolution and Child Development. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 2 e48, 1-13. doi: 10.1017/ehs.2020.47
Langley, Michelle C. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2020). Mobile containers in human cognitive evolution studies: understudied and underrepresented. Evolutionary Anthropology, 29 (6) evan.21857, 299-309. doi: 10.1002/evan.21857
Suddendorf, Thomas, Watson, Kate, Bogaart, Maddison and Redshaw, Jonathan (2020). Preparation for certain and uncertain future outcomes in young children and three species of monkey. Developmental Psychobiology, 62 (2) dev.21898, 191-201. doi: 10.1002/dev.21898
Bulley, Adam, McCarthy, Thomas, Gilbert, Sam J., Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2020). Children devise and selectively use tools to offload cognition. Current Biology, 30 (17), 3457-3464.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.035
Carey, Susan, Leahy, Brian, Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2020). Could it be so? The cognitive science of possibility. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 24 (1), 3-4. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.11.007
Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2020). Temporal junctures in the mind. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 24 (1), 52-64. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.10.009
Crystal, Jonathon D. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2019). Episodic memory in nonhuman animals?. Current Biology, 29 (24), R1291-R1295. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.045
Redshaw, Jonathan, Bulley, Adam and Suddendorf, Thomas (2019). Thinking about thinking about time. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 42 e273, 46-47. doi: 10.1017/s0140525x19000414
Gautam, Shalini, Suddendorf, Thomas, Henry, Julie D. and Redshaw, Jonathan (2019). A taxonomy of mental time travel and counterfactual thought: Insights from cognitive development. Behavioural Brain Research, 374 112108, 112108. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112108
Redshaw, Jonathan, Nielsen, Mark, Slaughter, Virginia, Kennedy-Costantini, Siobhan, Oostenbroek, Janine, Crimston, Jessica and Suddendorf, Thomas (2019). Individual differences in neonatal 'imitation' fail to predict early social cognitive behaviour. Developmental Science, 23 (2) e12892, e12892. doi: 10.1111/desc.12892
Bayne, Tim, Brainard, David, Byrne, Richard W., Chittka, Lars, Clayton, Nicky, Heyes, Cecilia, Mather, Jennifer, Ölveczky, Bence, Shadlen, Michael, Suddendorf, Thomas and Webb, Barbara (2019). What is cognition?. Current Biology, 29 (13), R608-R615. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.044
Gallagher, Regan M., Suddendorf, Thomas and Arnold, Derek H. (2019). Confidence as a diagnostic tool for perceptual aftereffects. Scientific Reports, 9 (1) 7124, 7124. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43170-1
Miloyan, Beyon, McFarlane, Kimberley A. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2019). Measuring mental time travel: Is the hippocampus really critical for episodic memory and episodic foresight?. Cortex, 117, 371-384. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.01.020
Bulley, Adam, Miloyan, Beyon, Pepper, Gillian V., Gullo, Matthew J., Henry, Julie D. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2019). Cuing both positive and negative episodic foresight reduces delay discounting but does not affect risk-taking. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72 (8), 1747021818819777-2017. doi: 10.1177/1747021818819777
Miloyan, Beyon, Bulley, Adam and Suddendorf, Thomas (2019). Anxiety: here and beyond. Emotion Review, 11 (1), 39-49. doi: 10.1177/1754073917738570
Lyons, Amanda D., Henry, Julie D., Robinson, Gail, Rendell, Peter G. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2019). Episodic foresight and stroke. Neuropsychology, 33 (1), 93-102. doi: 10.1037/neu0000495
von Hippel, William and Suddendorf, Thomas (2018). Did humans evolve to innovate with a social rather than technical orientation?. New Ideas in Psychology, 51, 34-39. doi: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.06.002
Brinums, Melissa, Imuta, Kana and Suddendorf, Thomas (2018). Practicing for the future: deliberate practice in early childhood. Child Development, 89 (6), 2051-2058. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12938
Redshaw, Jonathan, Leamy, Talia, Pincus, Phoebe and Suddendorf, Thomas (2018). Young children's capacity to imagine and prepare for certain and uncertain future outcomes. PLoS One, 13 (9) e0202606, e0202606. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202606
Suddendorf, Thomas (2018). Inside our heads: two key features created the human mind. Scientific American, 319 (3), 42-47. doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican0918-42
Oostenbroek, Janine, Redshaw, Jonathan, Davis, Jacqueline, Kennedy-Costantini, Siobhan, Nielsen, Mark, Slaughter, Virginia and Suddendorf, Thomas (2018). Re-evaluating the neonatal imitation hypothesis. Developmental Science, 22 (2) e12720, e12720. doi: 10.1111/desc.12720
Redshaw, J., Taylor, A. and Suddendorf, T. (2018). Clarifying animal planning capacities. Science
Redshaw, Jonathan, Suddendorf, Thomas, Neldner, Karri, Wilks, Matti, Tomaselli, Keyan, Mushin, Ilana and Nielsen, Mark (2018). Young children from three diverse cultures spontaneously and consistently prepare for alternative future possibilities. Child Development, 90 (1), 51-61. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13084
Suddendorf, T., Bulley, A. and Miloyan, B. (2018). Prospection and natural selection. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 24, 26-31. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.019
Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2018). Misconceptions about adaptive function. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 41 e28. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X17001480
Suddendorf, Thomas (2017). Consider the alternative. Inference: International Review of Science, 3 (3). doi: 10.37282/991819.17.84
Miloyan, Beyon, Bulley, Adam, Brilot, Ben and Suddendorf, Thomas (2017). The association of Social Anxiety Disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder and reproduction: Results from four nationally representative samples of adults in the USA. PloS one, 12 (11) e0188436, 1-10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188436
Redshaw, Jonathan, Taylor, Alex H. and Suddendorf, T. (2017). Flexible planning in ravens?. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 21 (11), 821-822. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.09.001
Gautam, Shalini, Bulley, Adam, von Hippel, William and Suddendorf, Thomas (2017). Affective forecasting bias in preschool children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 159, 175-184. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.02.005
Suddendorf, Thomas, Crimston, Jessica and Redshaw, Jonathan (2017). Preparatory responses to socially determined, mutually exclusive possibilities in chimpanzees and children. Biology Letters, 13 (6) 20170170, 20170170. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0170
Suddendorf, Thomas (2017). The emergence of episodic foresight and its consequences. Child Development Perspectives, 11 (3), 191-195. doi: 10.1111/cdep.12233
Bulley, Adam, Henry, Julie D. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2017). Thinking about threats: memory and prospection in human threat management. Consciousness and Cognition, 49, 53-69. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.01.005
Bulley, Adam, Pepper, Gillian and Suddendorf, Thomas (2017). Using foresight to prioritise the present. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40 e79, 15-16. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X16000996
Kennedy-Costantini, Siobhan, Oostenbroek, Janine, Suddendorf, Thomas, Nielsen, Mark, Redshaw, Jonathan, Davis, Jacqueline, Clark, Sally and Slaughter, Virginia (2017). There is no compelling evidence that human neonates imitate. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40 e392, e392. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X16001898
Redshaw, Jonathan, Henry, Julie D. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2016). Disentangling the effect of event-based cues on children's time-based prospective memory performance. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 150, 130-140. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.05.008
Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2016). Children’s and apes’ preparatory responses to two mutually exclusive possibilities. Current Biology, 26 (13), 1758-1762. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.062
Oostenbroek, Janine, Suddendorf, Thomas, Nielsen, Mark, Redshaw, Jonathan, Kennedy-Costantini, Siobhan, Davis, Jacqueline, Clark, Sally and Slaughter, Virginia (2016). Comprehensive Longitudinal Study Challenges the Existence of Neonatal Imitation in Humans. Current Biology, 26 (10), 1334-1338. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.047
Bulley, Adam, Miloyan, Beyon, Brilot, Ben, Gullo, Matthew J. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2016). An evolutionary perspective on the co-occurrence of social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 196, 62-70. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2016.02.028
Henry, Julie D., Addis, Donna Rose, Suddendorf, Thomas and Rendell, Peter G. (2016). Introduction to the special issue: prospection difficulties in clinical populations. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55 (1), 1-3. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12108
Bulley, Adam, Henry, Julie and Suddendorf, Thomas (2016). Prospection and the present moment: the role of episodic foresight in intertemporal choices between immediate and delayed rewards. Review of General Psychology, 20 (1), 29-47. doi: 10.1037/gpr0000061
Miloyan, Beyon, Pachana, Nancy A. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2016). Future-oriented thought patterns associated with anxiety and depression in later life: the intriguing prospects of prospection. The Gerontologist: a journal of the Gerontological Society of America, 57 (4), 619-625. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnv695
Cheng, Sen, Werning, Markus and Suddendorf, Thomas (2016). Dissociating memory traces and scenario construction in mental time travel. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 60, 82-89. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.11.011
Terrett, Gill, Lyons, Amanda, Henry, Julie D., Ryrie, Clare, Suddendorf, Thomas and Rendell, Peter G. (2016). Acting with the future in mind is impaired in long-term opiate users. Psychopharmacology, 234 (1), 1-10. doi: 10.1007/s00213-016-4442-3
Davis, Jac T. M., Cullen, Elizabeth and Suddendorf, Thomas (2015). Understanding deliberate practice in preschool-aged children. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69 (2), 361-380. doi: 10.1080/17470218.2015.1082140
Lyons, Amanda D., Henry, Julie D., Rendell, Peter G., Robinson, Gail and Suddendorf, Thomas (2015). Episodic foresight and schizophrenia. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55 (2), 107-122. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12092
Miloyan, Beyon, Bulley, Adam and Suddendorf , Thomas (2015). Episodic foresight and anxiety: Proximate and ultimate perspectives. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55 (1), 4-22. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12080
Suddendorf, Thomas (2015). Q & A: Thomas Suddendorf. Current Biology, 25 (2), R56-R57. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.10.058
Miloyan, Beyon and Suddendorf, Thomas (2015). Feelings of the future. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19 (4), 196-200. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.01.008
Dong, Andy, Collier-Baker, Emma and Suddendorf, Thomas (2015). Building blocks of human design thinking in animals. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, 5 (1-2), 1-15. doi: 10.1080/21650349.2015.1011700
Lyons, Amanda D., Henry, Julie D., Rendell, Peter G., Corballis, Michael C. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2014). Episodic foresight and aging. Psychology and Aging, 29 (4), 873-884. doi: 10.1037/a0038130
Butler, David and Suddendorf, Thomas (2014). Reducing the neural search space for hominid cognition: what distinguishes human and great ape brains from those of small apes?. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 21 (3), 590-619. doi: 10.3758/s13423-013-0559-0
Suddendorf, Thomas and Butler, David L. (2014). Response to Gallup et al.: are rich interpretations of visual self-recognition a bit too rich?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18 (2), 58-59. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.11.004
Miloyan, Beyon, Pachana, Nancy A. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2014). The future is here: a review of foresight systems in anxiety and depression. Cognition and Emotion, 28 (5), 795-810. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2013.863179
Suddendorf, Thomas and Henry, Julie (2013). Proximate and ultimate perspectives on memory. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 2 (4), 246-247. doi: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2013.10.005
Butler, David L., Mattingley, Jason B., Cunnington, Ross and Suddendorf, Thomas (2013). Different neural processes accompany self-recognition in photographs across the lifespan: an ERP study using dizygotic twins. PLoS ONE, 8 (9) e72586, e72586.1-e72586.9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072586
Redshaw, Jonathan and Suddendorf, Thomas (2013). Foresight beyond the very next event: four-year-olds can link past and deferred future episodes. Frontiers in Psychology, 4 (404) Article 404, 1-6. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00404
Suddendorf, Thomas (2013). Mental time travel: continuities and discontinuities. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17 (4), 151-152. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.01.011
Suddendorf, Thomas and Butler, David L. (2013). The nature of visual self-recognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17 (3), 121-127. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.01.004
Mulcahy, Nicholas J., Schubiger, Michele N. and Suddendorf, T. (2013). Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii) understand connectivity in the skewered grape tool task. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 127 (1), 109-113. doi: 10.1037/a0028621
Oostenbroek, Janine, Slaughter, Virginia, Nielsen, Mark and Suddendorf, Thomas (2013). Why the confusion around neonatal imitation? A review. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 31 (4), 328-341. doi: 10.1080/02646838.2013.832180
Suddendorf, Thomas, Oostenbroek, Janine, Nielsen, Mark and Slaughter, Virginia (2013). Is newborn imitation developmentally homologous to later social-cognitive skills?. Developmental Psychobiology, 55 (1), 52-58. doi: 10.1002/dev.21005
Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2013). The development of mental scenario building and episodic foresight. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1296 (1), 135-153. doi: 10.1111/nyas.12189
Hill, Andrew, Collier-Baker, Emma and Suddendorf, Thomas (2012). Inferential reasoning by exclusion in children (Homo Sapiens). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 126 (3), 243-254. doi: 10.1037/a0024449
Suddendorf, Thomas, Borello, Mark E., Allen, Colin and Radick, Gregory (2012). If I could talk to the animals. Metascience: An International Review Journal for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science, 21 (2), 253-267. doi: 10.1007/s11016-011-9553-1
Hill, Andrew, Collier-Baker, Emma and Suddendorf, Thomas (2012). "Inferential reasoning by exclusion in great apes, lesser apes, and spider monkeys": Correction to Hill, Collier-Baker, and Suddendorf (2011). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 126 (2), 138-138. doi: 10.1037/a0027590
Butler, David L., Mattingley, Jason B., Cunnington, Ross and Suddendorf, Thomas (2012). Mirror, mirror on the wall, how does my brain recognize my image at all?. PLoS One, 7 (2) e31452, e31452.1-e31452.7. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031452
Suddendorf, Thomas and Moore, Chris (2011). Introduction to the special issue: The development of episodic foresight. Cognitive Development, 26 (4), 295-298. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2011.09.001
Grant, Janie Busby and Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). Production of temporal terms by 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26 (1), 87-95. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.05.002
Hill, Andrew, Collier-Baker, Emma and Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). Inferential reasoning by exclusion in great apes, lesser apes, and spider monkeys. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 125 (1), 91-103. doi: 10.1037/a0020867
Mulcahy, Nicholas J. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). An obedient orangutan (Pongo abelii) performs perfectly in peripheral object-choice tasks but fails the standard centrally presented versions. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 125 (1), 112-115. doi: 10.1037/a0020905
Suddendorf, Thomas (2011). Evolution, lies, and foresight biases. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 34 (1), 38-39. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X10002128
Suddendorf, Thomas, Nielsen, Mark and von Gehlen, Rebecca (2011). Children's capacity to remember a novel problem and to secure its future solution. Developmental Science, 14 (1), 26-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00950.x
Suddendorf, T and Corballis, MC (2010). Behavioural evidence for mental time travel in nonhuman animals. Behavioural Brain Research, 215 (2), 292-298. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.11.044
Grant, JB and Suddendorf, T (2010). Young children's ability to distinguish past and future changes in physical and mental states. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28 (4), 853-870. doi: 10.1348/026151009X482930
Dissanayake, Cheryl, Shembrey, Joh and Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). Delayed video self-recognition in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's disorder. Autism, 14 (5), 495-508. doi: 10.1177/1362361310366569
Dissanayake, C, Shembrey, J and Suddendorf, T (2010). Delayed video self-recognition in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's disorder. Autism, 14 (5), 495-508. doi: 10.1177/1362361310366569
Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). Linking yesterday and tomorrow: Preschoolers' ability to report temporally displaced events. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28 (2), 491-498. doi: 10.1348/026151009X479169
Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). Episodic memory versus episodic foresight: Similarities and differences. Cognitive Science, 1 (1), 99-107. doi: 10.1002/wcs.23
Suddendorf, Thomas (2009). Episodic memory versus episodic foresight: similarities and differences. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 1 (1), 99-107. doi: 10.1002/wcs.23
Grant, Janie Busby and Suddendorf, Thomas (2009). Preschoolers begin to differentiate the times of events from throughout the lifespan. European Journal of Development Psychology, 6 (6), 746-762. doi: 10.1080/17405620802102947
Suddendorf, Thomas, Corballis, Michael C. and Collier-Baker, Emma (2009). How great is great ape foresight?. Animal Cognition, 12 (5), 751-754. doi: 10.1007/s10071-009-0253-9
Suddendorf, Thomas and Collier-Baker, Emma (2009). The evolution of primate visual self-recognition: evidence of absence in lesser apes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 276 (1662), 1671-1677. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2008.1754
Suddendorf, Thomas, Addis, Donna Rose and Corballis, Michael C. (2009). Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 364 (1521), 1317-1324. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0301
Suddendorf, Thomas and Corballis, Michael C. (2008). New evidence for animal foresight?. Animal Behaviour, 75 (5), e1-e3. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.01.006
Suddendorf, Thomas (2008). Explaining human cognitive autapomorphies. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31 (2), 147-148. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X08003737
Whiten, Andrew and Suddendorf, Thomas (2007). Great ape cognition and the evolutionary roots of human imagination. Proceedings of the British Academy, 147, 31-59.
Suddendorf, Thomas, Simcock, Gabrielle and Nielsen, Mark (2007). Visual self-recognition in mirrors and live videos: Evidence for a developmental asynchrony. Cognitive Development, 22 (2), 185-196. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2006.09.003
Suddendorf, T. and Corballis, M. C. (2007). The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel and is it unique to humans?. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 30 (3), 299-313. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X07001975
Suddendorf, Thomas and Corballis, M. C. (2007). Mental time travel across the disciplines: The future looks bright. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 30 (3), 335-345. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X0700221X
Slaughter, Virginia and Suddendorf, Thomas (2007). Participant loss due to "fussiness" in infant visual paradigms: A review of the last 20 years. Infant Behavior & Development, 30 (3), 505-514. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2006.12.006
Suddendorf, T (2006). Foresight and evolution of the human mind. Science, 312 (5776), 1006-1007. doi: 10.1126/science.1129217
Collier-Baker, Emma, Davis, Joanne M., Nielsen, Mark and Suddendorf, Thomas (2006). Do chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) understand single invisible displacement?. Animal Cognition, 9 (1), 55-61. doi: 10.1007/s10071-005-0004-5
Suddendorf, T. (2006). Primates and evolution of the human mind.. Dialogue, 25 (3), 50-58.
Nielsen, Mark, Suddendorf, Thomas and Slaughter, Virginia (2006). Mirror self-recognition beyond the face. Child Development, 77 (1), 176-185. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00863.x
Collier-Baker, E and Suddendorf, T (2006). Do chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and 2-year-old children (Homo sapiens) understand double invisible displacement?. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 120 (2), 89-97. doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.120.2.89
Busby, Jane and Suddendorf, Thomas (2005). Recalling yesterday and predicting tomorrow. Cognitive Development, 20 (3), 362-372. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2005.05.002
Suddendorf, Thomas and Busby, Janie (2005). Making decisions with the future in mind: Developmental and comparative identification of mental time travel. Learning And Motivation, 36 (2), 110-125. doi: 10.1016/j.lmot.2005.02.010
Nielsen, M. G., Collier-Baker, E., Davis, J. M. and Suddendorf, T. (2005). Imitation recognition in a captive chimpanzee (pan troglodytes). Animal Cognition, 8 (1), 31-36. doi: 10.1007/s10071-004-0232-0
Williams, J. H. G., Massaro, D. W., Peel, N. J., Bosseler, A. and Suddendorf, T. (2004). Visual-auditory integration during speech imitation in autism. Research In Developmental Disabilities, 25 (6), 559-575. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2004.01.008
Suddendorf, T. (2004). How primatology can inform us about the evolution of the humand mind. Australian Psychologist, 39 (3), 180-187. doi: 10.1080/00050060412331295117
Collier-Baker, Emma, Davis, Joanne M. and Suddendorf, Thomas (2004). Do dogs (canis familiaris) understand invisible displacement?. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 118 (4), 421-433. doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.118.4.421
Suddendorf, Thomas and Busby, Janie (2003). Mental time travel in animals?. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 7 (9), 391-396. doi: 10.1016/S1364-6613(03)00187-6
Suddendorf, Thomas and Busby, Janie (2003). Like it or not? The mental time travel debate: Reply to Clayton et al. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 7 (10), 437-438. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2003.08.010
Suddendorf, T. (2003). Early representational insight: 24-month-olds can use a photo to find an object in the world. Child Development, 74 (3), 896-904. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00574
Suddendorf, T. (2002). A brief history of monkey business. Biology & Philosophy, 17 (5), 703-713. doi: 10.1023/A:1022528107957
Suddendorf, Thomas and Whiten, Andrew (2001). Mental evolution and development: Evidence for secondary representation in children, great apes, and other animals. Psychological Bulletin, 127 (5), 629-650. doi: 10.1037//0033-2909.127.5.629
Lobb, B, Harre, N and Suddendorf, T (2001). An evaluation of a suburban railway pedestrian crossing safety programme. Accident Analysis And Prevention, 33 (2), 157-165. doi: 10.1016/S0001-4575(00)00026-9
Whiten, A. and Suddendorf, T. (2001). Meta-representation and secondary representation. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 5 (9), 378-378. doi: 10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01734-4
Williams, JHG, Whiten, A, Suddendorf, T and Perrett, DI (2001). Imitation, mirror neurons and autism. Neuroscience And Biobehavioral Reviews, 25 (4), 287-295. doi: 10.1016/S0149-7634(01)00014-8
Suddendorf, Thomas, Fletcher-Flinn, Claire and Johnston, Leah (1999). Pantomime and theory of mind. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 160 (1), 31-45. doi: 10.1080/00221329909595378
Suddendorf, T. and Fletcher-Flinn, C. M. (1999). Children's Divergent Thinking Improves When They Understand False Beliefs. Creativity Research Journal, 12 (2, special issue), 115-128. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1202_4
Suddendorf, Thomas (1999). Children’s understanding of the relation between delayed video representation and current reality: A test for self-awareness?. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 72 (3), 157-176. doi: 10.1006/jecp.1998.2485
Suddendorf, Thomas (1999). Reconstructing the evolution of language: Early-bloomers versus late-bloomers theories. Psycoloquy, 10 (080), 1-5.
Suddendorf, T (1998). Simpler for evolution: Secondary representation in apes, children, and ancestors. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 21 (1) S0140525X98410707, 131-+. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X98410707
Suddendorf, Thomas and Corballis, Michael C. (1997). Mental time travel and the evolution of the human mind.. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 123 (2), 133-167.
Suddendorf, T and Corballis, M C (1997). Mental time travel and the evolution of the human mind. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 123 (2), 133-67.
Suddendorf, T and FletcherFlinn, CM (1997). Theory of mind and the origin of divergent thinking. Journal of Creative Behavior, 31 (3), 169-179. doi: 10.1002/j.2162-6057.1997.tb00789.x
Fletcher-Flinn, CM and Suddendorf, T (1997). Computers and 'the mind': An intervention study. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 17 (2), 103-118. doi: 10.2190/4ENN-J234-R1YA-7L94
Fletcherflinn, CM and Suddendorf, T (1996). Computer attitudes, gender and exploratory behavior: A developmental study. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 15 (4), 369-392. doi: 10.2190/LK8M-TWU3-MWGF-9T1T
FletcherFlinn, CM and Suddendorf, T (1996). Do computers affect 'the mind'?. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 15 (2), 97-112. doi: 10.2190/WWK4-M6MB-MUJJ-WQP0

Conference Papers

Gautam, Shalini, Commens, J., Ratcliffe, M., Redshaw, J., Suddendorf, T. and McAuliffe, K. (2025). Cost and choice in children’s social judgments. Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN USA, 1-3 May 2025.
Dicken, Lily S., Suddendorf, Thomas, Bulley, Adam, Irish, Muireann and Redshaw, Jonathan (2024). Children’s emerging ability to balance internal and external cognitive resources. Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 24-27 July 2024. Santa Barbara, CA United States: The Regents of the University of California.
Ockerby, Zoe, Suddendorf, Thomas and Redshaw, Jonathan (2024). Innovating for the future: When do children begin to recognise and manufacture solutions to future problems?. Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 24-27 July 2024. Santa Barbara, CA United States: The Regents of the University of California.
Slaughter, Virginia, Oostenbroek, Janine, Suddendorf, Thomas and Nielsen, Mark (2013). Is the human mirror system operational at birth?. ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Nov - 1 Dec, 2013. Lausanne, Switzerland: Frontiers Research Foundation. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00043
Dong, Andy, Collier-Baker, Emma and Suddendorf, Thomas (2010). Animal innovation: a window into design thinking. Design Thinking Research Symposium 8, Sydney, Australia, 19-20 October 2010. Sydney, Australia: DAB documents.
Collier-Baker, E. and Suddendorf, T. (2006). Invisible displacement understanding in primates on a new task. The 33rd Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, London, 20-23 April, 2006. London: Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.1080/00049530600940016
Suddendorf, T., Simcock, G., Nielsen, M. and Collier-Baker, E. (2006). The development of self-recognition in mirrors and live videos. 33rd Australasian Experimental Psychology Conference, Bardon Conference Centre, Brisbane, 20-23 April, 2006. London: Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.1080/00049530600940016
Suddendorf, T., Nielson, M., Slaughter, V. and Simcock, G. (2004). The nature of early self-recognition. 39th Conference of the Australian Psychological Society, Sydney, Australia, 29 September - 3 October 2004. CARLTON: Taylor & Francis.
Collier-Baker, E, Davis, JM, Suddendorf, T and Nielsen, M (2004). Do chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) understand invisible displacement?. BASEL: KARGER.
Massaro, D.D., Williams, J, Suddendorf, T., Bosseler, A and Peel, N (2003). Lip-reading and visual-auditory integration during speech imitation in autism. AISB '03 Cognition in Machines and Animals, Aberystwyth / University of Wales, 7-11 April, 2003. Wales: The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence.
Suddendorf, T. (2000). Various. Symposium on the Nature of Intelligence, Novartis Foundation, London, 30 Nov - 2 December, 1999. Chichester, U.K.: John Wiley.
Parr, J. and Suddendorf, T. (1999). Will electronic media help my child to read and write? Views from the autonomy and metamorphosis perspectives. Joint AARE-NZARE 1999 Conference Melbourne Research in Education; Global Issues & Local Effects: The, Swinburne Univ.ersity of Technology, Lilydale, 29 November -2 December, 1999. Melbourne: Australia Association for Research in education (AARE).

Audio Document

Battley, Phillip, Suddendorf, Thomas, Redshaw, Jonathan and Bulley, Adam (2022). The invention of tomorrow. OrangeSky Audio.

Newspaper Articles

Suddendorf, Thomas (2025, 04 24). The contributions of a chimpanzee to psychology Psychology Today
Suddendorf, Thomas (2023, 11 09). Was sehen sie hier, Thomas Suddendorf Psychologie Heute
Suddendorf, Thomas, Redshaw, Jon and Bulley, Adam (2023, 05 23). Foresight: The mental talent that shaped the world Jon Redshaw
Suddendorf, Thomas and Bhattacharya, Shaoni (2023, 03 01). The human mind is a virtual time machine The Psychologist 60-62.
Suddendorf, Thomas , Redshaw, Jonathan and Bulley, Adam (2022, 10 14). Why the ability to imagine the future is at the heart of human nature – even if we often get it terribly wrong The Globe and Mail
Suddendorf, Thomas and Langely, Michelle (2020, 08 12). Got your bag? The critical place of mobile containers in human evolution The Conversation
Bulley, Adam and Suddendorf, Thomas (2018, 02 21). Why telling people they could get sick in the future won’t persuade them to be healthy now
Suddendorf, Thomas (2016, 12 01). Die letzte menschenart Zeitzeichen
Suddendorf, Thomas (2014, 03 03). What separates us from animals Slate
Suddendorf, Thomas (2014, 02 08). What makes us human? The Huffington Post
Suddendorf, Thomas (2013, 11 21). Are we really different from other animals? CNN online
Suddendorf, Thomas (2013, 11 10). "Hello, baby. Check me out": Animals speak but don't say much Salon
Suddendorf, Thomas (2013, 10 21). Where are humans' closest relatives The Chronicle of Higher Education

Theses

Thomas Suddendorf (1998). On the ontogeny and phylogeny of the representational mind. PhD Thesis, Department of Psychology, The University of Auckland.
Suddendorf, Thomas (1994). Discovery of the fourth dimension: mental time travel and human evolution. Master's Thesis, Department of Psychology, The University of Waikato.