Publications

In Press/ Under Review

Confer, J., Schleihauf, H., Amir, D., & Engelmann, J.M. (in press) Group Membership Biases How Children Evaluate Evidence. Nature Communications.

Bear, C., Langenhoff, A.F., Keşşafoğlu D., Mohtezebsade, W., Kidd, C., Küntay, A.C., Engelmann, J.M.*, Köymen, B.,* (in press). Anticipating disagreement enhances source memory in English- and Turkish-speaking preschool children. Developmental Psychology

Schleihauf, H., Langenhoff, A., Zhang, Z., Wang, Y., Herrmann, E., Köymen, B., Zeidler, H., & Engelmann, J.M. (under review) Children Across Diverse Societies Exchange Reasons to Resolve Disagreements.

2025

Schleihauf, H.*, Sanford, E.M.*, Thompson, B.D., Zhang, S., Rukundo, J., Call, J., Herrmann, E.^# & Engelmann, J.M.^#(2025) Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs. Science.

Langenhoff, A., Thompson, B., Srinivasan, M., Engelmann, J.M. (2025) Disagreement Drives Metacognitive Development. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

Lewis, L., Ritov, O., Reddy, R., Herrmann, E., Sánchez-Amaro, A., Gopnik, A., & Engelmann, J.M. (2025) Chimpanzees and children are curious about social interactions. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Haux, L., Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., Hertwig, R. (2025) Chimpanzees Adapt their Exploration to Key Properties of the Environment. Nature Communications.

Jacobs, C., Grüneisen, S., Over, H., Engelmann, J.M. (2025). Children demand an equal share of worthless objects. Developmental Science.

Smith, G. E., Lambert, M. L., Swindell, E., Engelmann, J. M., & Völter, C. J. (2025). Epistemic curiosity in kea parrots and human children. Open Mind.

Smith, J. M., Mohamadpour, H., Engelmann, J.M., Davis, H. E., Krieger, J., Sørensen, B. G., Koster, J., Heysieattalab, S., & Amir, D. (2025) No developmental differences in preferences for epistemic versus physical uncertainty across three diverse cultures. Developmental Science.

Baer, C., Engelmann, J.M., Kidd. C. (2025) Children use the relative confidence of people with conflicting perspectives to form their own beliefs. Developmental Science.

Zhu, R., Pitchik, H., Nduku, T., Engelmann, J.M., Fernald, L., and Gopnik, A. (2025). The development of picture comprehension across early environments: Evidence from urban and rural toddlers in Western Kenya. Developmental Science.

Zhu, R., Nduku, T., Engelmann, J.M., and Gopnik, A. (2025). Investigating the validity of picture-based assessments across cultures and contexts: Evidence from young children in Kenya and the U.S.. Developmental Psychology.

2024

Ritov, O., Völter, C., Raihani, N., Engelmann, J.M. (2024). No Evidence for Inequity Aversion in Non-Human Animals: A Meta-Analysis of Accept/Reject Paradigms. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Engelmann, J.M., Völter, C.J., Goddu, M., Call, J., Herrmann, E. & Rakoczy, H. (2024) Modal Reasoning in Nonhuman Animals: Possible Ways Forward. Biology Letters.

Langenhoff, A., Srinivasan, M., Engelmann, J.M. (2024) Disagreement reduces overconfidence and prompts exploration in young children. Child Development.

Knofe, H., Engelmann, J.M., Grüneisen, S., Herrmann, E. (2024) Instrumental Helping and Short-Term Reciprocity in Chimpanzees and Human Children. Ethology.

2023

Confer, J., Schleihauf, H., Engelmann, J.M. (2023). Children and adults’ intuitions of what people can believe. Child Development.

Engelmann, J.M., Völter, C.J., Goddu, M., Call, J., Rakoczy, H. & Herrmann, E. (2023) Chimpanzees prepare for alternative possible outcomes. Biology Letters.

Schleihauf, H., Zhang, Z., Gomez, A., & Engelmann, J.M. (2023) From outcome to process: A developmental shift in judgments of rational reasoning. Cognition.

Haux, L., Engelmann, J.M., Arslan, R., Hertwig, R., Herrmann, E. (2023) Chimpanzee and human risk preferences show key similarities. Psychological Science.

Langenhoff, A., Engelmann, J.M.*, & Srinivasan, M.* (2023) Children’s developing ability to adjust their beliefs reasonably in response to disagreement. Child Development.

2022

Engelmann, J.M, Haux, L., Schleihauf, H., Völter, C., Call, J., Rakoczy, H. & Herrmann, E. (2022). Do Chimpanzees Reason Logically? Child Development.

Hepach, R.*, Engelmann, J.M.*, Herrmann, E., Gerdemann, S., & Tomasello, M. (2022) Evidence for a developmental shift in the motivation underlying helping in early childhood. Developmental Science.

Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., Proft, M., Keupp, S., Dunham, Y.+, & Rakoczy, H.+ (2022) Chimpanzees consider freedom of choice in their evaluation of social action. Biology Letters. 18(2).

Köymen, B. & Engelmann, J.M. (2022) Young children rely on gossip when jointly reasoning about whom to believe. Developmental Psychology.

Schleihauf, H., Herrmann, E., Fischer, J., & Engelmann, J.M. (2022) How Children Revise Their Beliefs in Light of Reasons. Child Development.

Gerdemann S.C., Tippmann J., Dietrich B., Engelmann J.M., Hepach R. (2022) Young children show negative emotions after failing to help others. PLoS ONE 17(4): e0266539

2021

Engelmann, J.M., Völter, C.J., O’Madagain, C., Proft, M., Haun, D.B.M., Rakoczy, H. & Herrmann, E. (2021) Chimpanzees consider alternative possibilities. Current Biology.

Engelmann, J.M., Zhang, Z., Zeidler, H., Dunham, Y., & Herrmann, E. (2021) The influence of friendship and merit on children’s resource allocation in three societies. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 208. 105149.

Haux, L.M., Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E. + & Hertwig, R.+ (2021) How chimpanzees decide in the face of social and nonsocial uncertainty. Animal Behaviour. 173. 177-189.

2019

Knofe, H., Engelmann, J.M., Tomasello, M., Herrmann, E. (2019) Chimpanzees monopolize and children take turns in a limited resource problem. Scientific Reports. 9. 7597.

Engelmann, J. M., & Tomasello, M. (2019). Children’s Sense of Fairness as Equal Respect. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(6), 454–463.

• Comment: McAuliffe, K., Warneken, F., & Blake, P. (2019). Children’s Sense of Fairness: Respect Isn’t Everything. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(9), 715–716.

• Reply to comment: Engelmann, J. M., & Tomasello, M. (2019). Respect Defended. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(9), 716–717.

Engelmann, J.M., Haux, L.M., & Herrmann, E. (2019) Helping in young children and chimpanzees is partial toward friends. Evolution and Human Behavior.

Herrmann, E., Haux, L.M., Zeidler, H., & Engelmann, J.M. (2019) Human children but not chimpanzees make irrational decisions driven by social comparison. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Herrmann, E., Engelmann, J.M., Tomasello, M. (2019) Children engage in competitive altruism. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 179. 176-189.

Confer, J.A., & Chopik, W.J. (2019). Behavioral explanations reduce retributive punishment but not reward: The mediating role of conscious will. Consciousness and Cognition, 75, 102808.

2018

Rapp, D.J., Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello,M. (2018) Young children’s reputational strategies in a peer group context. Developmental Psychology.

Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2018) Concern for group reputation increases prosociality in young children. Psychological Science. 29(2). 181-190

Melis, A.P., Engelmann, J.M., & Warneken, F. (2018) Correspondence: Chimpanzee helping is real, not a byproduct. Nature Communications. 9.

Engelmann, J.M. & Rapp, D.J. (2018) The influence of reputational concerns on children’s prosociality. Current Opinion in Psychology. 20. 92-95.

2017

Engelmann, J.M., Clift, J., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2017) Social disappointment explains chimpanzees’ behavior in the inequity aversion task. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 284(1861). 20171502.

Rapp, D.J., Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2017) The impact of free choice on young children’s prosocial development. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 158. 112-121.

2016

Haux, L.M., Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2016) Do young children trust gossip or their own observations? Social Development. doi: 10.1111/sode.12225

Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., Rapp, D.J., & Tomasello, M. (2016) Young children (sometimes) do the right thing even if their peers do not. Cognitive Development. 39. 86-92.

Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2016) Preschoolers affect others’ reputations through prosocial gossip. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 34(3). 447-460.

Engelmann, J.M., & Herrmann, E. (2016). Chimpanzees trust their friends. Current Biology. 26(2). 252-256.

Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2016) The effects of being watched on resource acquisition in chimpanzees and human children. Animal Cognition. 19(1), 147-151.

2015

Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2015) Chimpanzees trust conspecifics to engage in low-cost reciprocity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282(1801). 20142803.

2013

Engelmann J.M., Over, H., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2013) Young children care more about their reputation with ingroup members and potential reciprocators. Developmental Science. 16(6). 952-958.

2012

Engelmann, J.M., Herrmann, E., & Tomasello, M. (2012) Five-year-olds, but not chimpanzees, attempt to manage their reputations. PLoS ONE. 7(10). E48433.

Book Chapters

Engelmann, J.M., & Tomasello, M. (2018) The middle step: joint intentionality as human-unique form of second-personal engagement. In Jankovic, M., & Ludwig, K., (eds.) The Routledge Handbook on Collective Intentionality. Routledge.

Engelmann, J.M., & Tomasello, M. (2017) Prosociality and morality in children and chimpanzees. In Helwig, C. (ed.) New Perspectives on Moral Development.

Engelmann, J.M., & Zeller, C. (2017) Doing the right thing for the wrong reason: reputation and moral behavior. In Julian Kiverstein (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of the Social Mind. Routledge. 247-261.