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Welcome to the research website of Dr. Victoria Talwar and her research team at McGill University!
We are researchers interested in children’s cognitive social development. Our research is informed by the disciplines of psychology, education and law to examine children’s behaviours that are pertinent to children’s adaptive development, child witness testimony and professionals who work with children. We conduct studies examining how children learn and develop different social behaviors such as honesty, politeness, and understanding other’s feelings and beliefs. We also investigate how the development of these behaviours impact and relate to child witness testimony. Studies include research on the developmental trajectories of children’s honesty and related behaviours and risk factors (e.g. their moral development, empathy, impulse control, parenting styles), on behavioural markers of children’s fabricated reports, adults assessments of children’s reports, and methods of promoting children’s accurate and truthful testimony.
Our research not only has implications for our theoretical understanding of children’s adaptive development but also aims to provide relevant information to real‑world problems faced by professionals who work with children. For example, research on children’s truth and lie-telling behavior is important to study because parents, teachers, social workers, legal professionals, police and others, frequently need children to report accurate information.
Join us in learning more about children’s social behavior. |
