Jeffrey Farrar, PhD is director of the language and cognitive development lab at the University of Florida. A primary focus of his research are the linguistic influences on theory of mind development. A critical achievement is the development of false belief understanding--knowing that others can have beliefs that differ from the child, such as the content of a closed box. We examine the role of different aspects of language (grammar, general language, mental state talk) in its development. Several different populations are used to explore these issues, typical preschoolers, those who are bilingual or speak a different language (Korean, Mandarin), children with various developmental disorders (specific language impairment, autism). He received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and PhD from Emory University's program in Cognition and Development. He then completed a 2-year NIMH postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Denver
Graduate Students
Yao Guan is a fourth year graduate student specialized both in developmental psychology and behavioral and cognitive neuroscience. She earned her bachelor degree at Southwest University in China and her master degree at the University of Florida. Her research interest focuses on cognitive development in children. In particular, she’s interested in cognitive (e.g., executive function) and linguistic abilities that are related to theory of mind development at both behavioral and neural levels.
Katie Erhardt is a first year student in the Developmental Psychology program. Her interests include theory of mind and language development. She hopes to pursue a career in academic after she completes the program. Her office is PSY 161 and she can be reached at [email protected].
Undergraduate RAs
Kenny Serrano is a fourth-year student from Hialeah, Florida majoring in both Psychology and Biology. He is currently interested in children's ability to pass a reverse complementation task with the same results as the standard complementation task. He plans to pursue a Pharm.D. after graduation in May 2016.
Veerley Mejia is currently a junior at the University of Florida majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Diasabilities in Society. Her future plans include going to graduate school to obtain her Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology, Veerley is highly interested in children and is aiming to work with them in her future career.
Shardé Pettis is a fourth-year student from Fort Lauderdale, Florida majoring in Psychology with dual minors in Family, Youth and Community Sciences and Educational Studies. Shardé is interested in the impact of trauma on childhood development and working with underserved populations. She plans to pursue a Doctor of Psychology specializing in Child and Adolescent Psychology after graduation in May 2016.
Andreina Fernandez is a 3rd year Psychology and Linguistics dual degree student minoring in Disabilities in Society and Latin American Studies. She is interested in language acquisition and development in children and educational disparities across various identities (including race, gender, socioeconomic status, and ability). She is passionate about social justice and working to create a more inclusive community through education. In the future, Andreina hope to attend graduate school and continue doing research.
Jared Vasil is majoring in psychology and minoring in German and anthropology, with a possible double major in psychology and anthropology. He is extremely interested in the interplay between social, cognitive and language development in extant humans and how this interplay can be traced evolutionarily, as well as second language acquisition in both children and adults. Additionally, he is interested in the evolutionary causes for, and implications of, bipedalism and endurance running within the human lineage. He hopes to attend a graduate program where he can further work with some of these topics, and hope as well to do research in these areas for a career, whether at a research institute or university.
Lab Alumni
Vanessa Diaz, PhD completed her dissertation in 2015 and is currently in Burlington Vermont. She received her undergraduate degree from Florida International University. Vanessa's research examines cognitive development in bilingual children focusing primarily on theory of mind.
Jennifer Tamargo, PhD research was concerned with the social cognitive predictors of observational learning in preschool children. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Florida. Jen is currently a research associate at the Rand Corporation.
Lauren Fasig, JD, PhD is currently the APA director of Children, Youth, and Families Office in
Washington, DC. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill. While at Florida she obtained her PhD in developmental psychology and
her JD degree from the Law School.
Joann Benigno, PhD is an associate professor at Ohio University after completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota. While at Florida, she also acquired training in communication sciences and disorders. Her research integrates research practices in Developmental Psychology and Communication Sciences and Disorders. Joann's research interests involve key transitions in language and cognition in infancy through the preschool years with a particular focus on (1) the reciprocal relations among children's social, cognitive, and language skills and (2) how these skills impact the interactions they share with others, such as parents, peers, and older siblings. Of particular interested in how social understanding, language, and executive functioning unfold in children who are typically developing and how to best facilitate these skills in children with (or at risk for developing) communication disorders and delays.
Virginia Tompkins, PhD is an assistant professor at the Ohio State University at Lima. She completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Florida. Dr. Tompkins’ research focuses on social cognitive development in early childhood. She is particularly interested in language, literacy, and theory of mind development. She is also interested in how these domains of development are promoted through social interaction with parents and teachers. Dr. Tompkins has worked with a variety of populations including language-impaired children and low-income children.
Melissa Welch-Ross, PhD is Director of Special Initiatives at the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She has directed activities for the Academies on a variety of topics that include literacy and language development, child abuse and neglect, transportation systems, and, most recently, improving the effectiveness of science communication for decision-making.
Previously Melissa served three years as special expert translating research to policy and programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Division of Children and Youth Policy. She earlier launched and directed the Early Learning and School Readiness Research Program for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to foster application of science on learning to the development of early childhood curricula, interventions and programs. In 2000, she was Executive Branch Science Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education, sponsored by the Society for Research in Child Development and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Melissa has held faculty appointments at George Mason University and at Georgia State University in Atlanta where she received NIH funding to conduct research on early memory development.
Previously Melissa served three years as special expert translating research to policy and programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Division of Children and Youth Policy. She earlier launched and directed the Early Learning and School Readiness Research Program for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to foster application of science on learning to the development of early childhood curricula, interventions and programs. In 2000, she was Executive Branch Science Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education, sponsored by the Society for Research in Child Development and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Melissa has held faculty appointments at George Mason University and at Georgia State University in Atlanta where she received NIH funding to conduct research on early memory development.