Susan Birch

Susan Birch is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), within the Faculty of Arts. She holds a PhD from Yale University (2004) and is part of the Early Development Research Group, a consortium focused on language, learning, and social understanding in infants and children. Her primary research examines social perspective-taking (theory of mind) across the lifespan, exploring cognitive biases, learning dynamics, and links to social-emotional health. Secondary research interests include health psychology.

Education:

• PhD in Psychology, Yale University, 2004

Research Interests:
Dr. Birch investigates how individuals reason about others' mental states, limitations in perspective-taking, and how these abilities influence learning from others. Notable areas include:

• Developmental origins of theory of mind
• Cognitive biases (e.g., 'curse of knowledge')
• Infants' social dominance inferences
• Cultural influences on social learning

Publications Trends:
Her work spans developmental psychology, social cognition, and cultural learning. Recent studies highlight behavioral synchrony's role in mentalizing, family discourse effects in autism, and cross-cultural interpretations of mind-body dualism. Methodological innovations include comparative task designs for measuring perspective-taking.

Awards:

• Robert E. Knox Master Teaching Award (2008)
• Peter Wall Institute Early Career Scholar (2005)

Grants & Mentorship:
While specific grants are not detailed, her research is supported by UBC's Early Development Research Group collaborations. She mentors students in experimental methods and theoretical frameworks in developmental and social psychology.

Labs/Teams:
Affiliated with the Early Development Research Group, conducting interdisciplinary studies on infant cognition and social development.