Michael Charles Corballis ONZM (10 September 1936 – 13 November 2021) was a New Zealand and Canadian[1] psychologist and author.
In 1962, Corballis married Barbara Elizabeth Wheeler; they had two sons:[2] Paul, also a cognitive neuroscientist,[3] and Tim, a novelist[4] and academic.
He then moved to McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he completed a PhD in psychology in 1965.
[10] During Corballis's years at McGill, the main focus of his research was in cognitive neuroscience, analyzing complex cognitive systems such as perception, attention, and memory, and initiating a research program on cerebral asymmetry.
In the 21st century, Corballis's turned to evolutionary biology, contributing significantly to complex cognitive processes.
[11] Of great interest was his hypothesis that human language evolved from gestures, expressed in the book From hand to mouth; it received more than 1500 citations in its first year.
[13][failed verification] Corballis supervised the work of at least 14 research assistants, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, who, in turn supervised more than 50 students and fellows, leaving a lasting human scientific legacy.
[19] In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to psychological science.