Elizabeth Meins

Elizabeth Meins is a Professor of Psychology at the University of York, where she has been since 2013. Previously, she held academic roles at Durham University from 1997 to 2013, including positions as Lecturer and later Professor. She earned her first degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, specializing in Psychology, followed by a PhD in Developmental Psychology at Cambridge. Her research focuses on caregivers' 'mind-mindedness,' its impact on children's social-cognitive and emotional development, and related topics like attachment theory, private speech, and cognitive biases in young adults. She has led major grants, including an ESRC-funded project investigating mind-mindedness transmission mechanisms and long-term developmental outcomes.

Key collaborations include work with researchers such as Annie Bernier, Charles Fernyhough, and Paul Harris. Her research has informed programs like NSPCC’s 'All Babies Count' and clinical interventions for mothers with severe mental illnesses. Awards include the 2000 Outstanding Contribution to Research Award from the Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology. She actively supervises PhD students in developmental psychology and teaches courses like 'Development and Language.'

Her recent work explores the role of mind-mindedness in educational attainment, smartphone app interventions for parental attunement, and longitudinal studies of attachment and mentalizing abilities. She has published extensively in journals like Child Development, Developmental Psychology, and Psychological Bulletin.