Virginia Slaughter

Virginia Slaughter is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia, and Dean of the Graduate School. She founded the Early Cognitive Development Centre, focusing on social and cognitive development in infants and young children, particularly theory-of-mind development and peer interaction skills. Her research spans cultural influences on cognition, autism spectrum disorders, imitation mechanisms, and developmental psychology. She holds prestigious fellowships from the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Association for Psychological Science.

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts (Institution unspecified)
• Doctor of Philosophy, University of California-Berkeley

Research Interests: Her work explores how infants and children develop social behavior, mental state understanding, and moral reasoning. Key areas include neonatal imitation, cross-cultural theory of mind, and the role of technology (e.g., robots, screens) in learning. She investigates interventions for children with autism and the impact of societal factors like gender expression on child development.

Grants and Funding: Over 20 grants including studies on cultural evolution of understanding, imitation in infancy, and sibling influence on children with autism. Notable funders: ARC Discovery Projects, NHMRC, John Templeton Foundation.

Awards:

• Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
• Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science

Labs and Teams: Leads the Early Cognitive Development Centre, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams on projects like UP-BEAT (action-observation training for infants) and animal-assisted interventions for children with autism.