Introduction to Developmental Psychology

Blake McKimmie is a Professor and Associate Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at The University of Queensland, where he has established himself as a leading expert in psychology and legal decision-making. His distinguished career is marked by numerous teaching accolades, including a Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in 2010 and a University of Queensland Teaching Excellence Award in 2016, while his teaching team earned the prestigious AAUT Higher Education Teacher of the Year award in 2019 and the edX Prize in 2018. As a social psychologist, he has authored over 80 research publications focusing on jury decision-making and the influence of gender-based stereotypes in legal outcomes, while also exploring group membership dynamics and attitude-behavior relations. McKimmie leads significant educational initiatives, including the acclaimed CRIME101x course and the PSYC1030x Introduction to Developmental, Social & Clinical Psychology XSeries Program on edX.org. His research has attracted funding from the Australian Research Council, and he actively collaborates with the Queensland Police Service Special Investigations Training team to improve responses to child sexual abuse cases. At UQ, he teaches core psychology courses, including a large introductory psychology course and a second-year elective on psychology and law, while maintaining involvement in police officer training and contributing valuable insights to law reform commissions, making him a influential figure in both academic psychology and practical legal applications.

Nancy A. Pachana serves as Professor of Clinical Geropsychology in the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland, where she has established herself as an international authority on geriatric mental health. After completing her AB from Princeton University and PhD from Case Western Reserve University, followed by postdoctoral fellowships at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute and the Palo Alto Veterans Medical Center, she has built an impressive career focusing on aging and mental health. As co-director of the UQ Ageing Mind Initiative and Program Lead of the Age Friendly University Initiative, she has published over 350 peer-reviewed articles and secured more than $25 million in competitive research funding. Her most significant contribution includes co-developing the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, now translated into over two dozen languages and used globally. Her expertise spans late-life anxiety disorders, psychological interventions for Parkinson's Disease, nursing home interventions, assistance animals in later life, and healthy aging strategies. Pachana's academic excellence has been recognized through numerous honors, including Fellowship in the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (2014), the Australian Davos Connection Future Summit Leadership Award, and the M. Powell Lawton Lifetime Achievement Award (2020) from the American Psychological Association's Society of Clinical Geropsychology. Beyond her research, she maintains an active role in shaping policy as a member of various international committees, including the WHO Consortium on Metrics and Evidence for Healthy Ageing and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Taskforce on Brain Health.

Virginia Slaughter serves as Professor of Psychology and Founding Director of the Early Cognitive Development Centre at The University of Queensland, where she has established herself as a leading authority in developmental psychology since 1997. Her groundbreaking research on social and cognitive development in infants and young children has earned her numerous accolades, including an Australian Award for University Teaching and a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award. With over 8,500 citations to her work, she has made significant contributions to understanding how children develop social cognition, theory of mind, and peer interaction skills. Her research spans various areas including infant imitation, children's understanding of mental states, and cross-cultural comparisons of child development, leading to her election as a Fellow of both the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the Association for Psychological Science. Beyond her research, she has authored influential books including "Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding" and "Individual Differences in Theory of Mind," while maintaining active involvement in doctoral supervision and research leadership. Her work has particularly focused on understanding how children develop social understanding and cognitive skills, making her a significant figure in developmental psychology globally. Slaughter continues to lead innovative research projects and mentor the next generation of developmental psychologists while contributing to theoretical frameworks that explain early childhood social and cognitive development.

Mark Nielsen serves as Professor in the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland, where he has established himself as a prominent researcher in developmental psychology since joining as a UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2002. After completing his PhD at La Trobe University, he has made significant contributions to understanding socio-cognitive development in both human children and non-human primates. His groundbreaking research on cultural learning, particularly focusing on imitation and innovation, has earned him numerous accolades including an Early Career Researcher Award from the International Society on Infant Studies and fellowship in the Association for Psychological Science. As a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg and Associate Editor for the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology and PLoS ONE, his influence extends internationally. His research has particularly illuminated how children learn through imitation, demonstrating crucial differences between human and non-human primate learning patterns, especially in what has become known as "overimitation" - the human tendency to copy even causally irrelevant actions. Beyond his academic contributions, which include over 100 published papers, Nielsen maintains editorial roles with prestigious journals including Child Development and Developmental Science, while actively supervising doctoral students in areas ranging from social learning to cultural cognition.

Nicole Nelson serves as an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland, where she has established herself as a prominent researcher in developmental psychology and emotion understanding. Her research focuses on how children and adults process emotional expressions across multiple modalities, including facial, postural, and vocal cues. Her groundbreaking work has revealed that children as young as three can make sophisticated judgments about reality versus fantasy, and understand complex emotional expressions