Harvard's star psychologist faked data — and eight counts of misconduct ended his career

Marc Hauser was a star professor at Harvard University, holding appointments in psychology, evolutionary biology, and anthropology. He ran the Cognitive Evolution Laboratory, where he studied animal cognition and the origins of human morality. His work was widely cited and earned him a reputation as one of the leading thinkers in evolutionary psychology.

In 2007, Harvard launched an internal investigation after former students and research assistants alleged that Hauser had fabricated data and manipulated experimental results. The investigation took three years. On August 20, 2010, Harvard's dean confirmed that Hauser had committed eight counts of scientific misconduct — three involving published papers and five involving unpublished studies. The misconduct included data fabrication, manipulating experimental results, and incorrectly describing how studies were conducted.

Hauser took a leave of absence in 2010 and was barred from teaching in Harvard's psychology department in April 2011. He resigned his faculty position, effective August 1, 2011. In September 2012, the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) found he committed misconduct in four NIH grants, including fabricating data and falsifying inter-observer reliability values. He agreed to a three-year supervision period and could not serve on PHS committees. The case damaged Harvard's reputation and became a cautionary tale about the pressure to produce groundbreaking results.