Christopher Chabris
Christopher Chabris | |
---|---|
![]() Christopher Chabris speaking in 2012 | |
Born | November 19, 1966 |
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Known for | The Invisible Gorilla |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Psychology,Experimental psychology,cognitive science,Cognitive Illusions |
Christopher F. Chabris(/ʃəˈbriː/) is an Americanresearch psychologist,currently Senior Investigator (Professor) atGeisinger Health System,visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study inToulouse,France, and associate professor of Psychology and co-director of the Neuroscience Program atUnion CollegeinSchenectady,New York (on leave 2016–2017). He is best known as the co-author (withDaniel Simons) of the popular science bookThe Invisible Gorilla,which presents the results of research into attention and other cognitive illusions.[1]
Biography
[edit]Chabris was born in New York City in 1966, grew up in Westchester County and has lived in Massachusetts since graduating from college. He received his B.A. in computer science (1988) atHarvard Universityand was then Artificial Intelligence Program Manager in the Psychology Department for five years. In 1999 he received a Ph.D. degree in psychology from Harvard University, with a thesis titled "Cognitive and Neuropsychological Mechanisms of Expertise: Studies with Chess Masters." From 1999 to 2001 he was a Research Fellow at the NMR Center, Department of Radiology,Massachusetts General HospitalandHarvard Medical School.In Fall 2002 he was a Lecturer teaching an introductory course on cognitive neuroscience, and from 2001 to 2002 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Harvard Psychology Department.
Chabris has been achess mastersince 1986. He was a founder of theAmerican Chess Journaland a former editor of the Massachusetts Chess Association (MACA) magazineChess Horizons.He has produced several chess events and writes on monthly column called Game On forThe Wall Street Journal.
Research
[edit]Chabris' research focuses on attention, decision-making, collective intelligence, cognitive ability, and behavioral genetics.[2]His recent work includes thegenetic origin of intelligence,demonstrating that many genes formerly associated with intelligence are actually false positives.[3]Chabris is also a regular media commentator on psychology-related topics such as the theory that10,000 hours of practice make someone an expert,[4]and thatlistening to Mozart makes you more intelligent.[5][6]
The Invisible Gorilla
[edit]Chabris is best known outside the academic community as the co-author withDaniel Simonsof the bookThe Invisible Gorilla,published in 2010. Simons and Chabris were awarded anIg Nobel Prizefor theInvisible Gorilla experiment.[7]
References
[edit]- ^What We Miss, New York Times review of The Invisible Gorilla, Accessed 10 October 2012
- ^"Christopher F. Chabris: Brief Biography".Archived fromthe originalon 30 December 2021.Retrieved5 April2022.
- ^Chabris, Christopher F.; Hebert, Benjamin M.; Benjamin, Daniel J.; Beauchamp, Jonathan; Cesarini, David; van der Loos, Matthijs; Johannesson, Magnus; Magnusson, Patrik K. E.; Lichtenstein, Paul; Atwood, Craig S.; Freese, Jeremy; Hauser, Taissa S.; Hauser, Robert M.; Christakis, Nicholas; Laibson, David (November 2012)."Most Reported Genetic Associations With General Intelligence Are Probably False Positives".Psychological Science.23(11): 1314–1323.doi:10.1177/0956797611435528.PMC3498585.PMID23012269.Retrieved5 April2022.
- ^Choi, Charles Q. (6 June 2011)."Too Hard for Science? Seeing If 10,000 Hours Make You an Expert".Scientific American.Retrieved5 April2022.
- ^Jones, Rochelle (25 August 1999)."Mozart's nice but doesn't increase IQs".CNN.WebMD.Retrieved5 April2022.
- ^Swaminathan, Nikhil (13 September 2007)."Fact or Fiction?: Babies Exposed to Classical Music End Up Smarter".Scientific American.Retrieved5 April2022.
- ^Invisible gorilla steals Ig Nobel prize, New Scientist, 1 October 2004, Accessed 9 October 2012
Bibliography
[edit]- The Invisible Gorilla,Crown, 2010
- Nobody's Fool,Basic Books, 2023