Darwin Muir

B.S., Eastern Michigan University, 1964
M.S., Eastern Michigan University, 1967
Ph.D., Dalhousie University, 1973

Research Interests

In our lab we are conducting studies in fetal-infant perception following a dynamic systems theory approach. The current focus is on the development of infant auditory localization response, the evaluation of fetal-infant sensitivity to vibroacoustic stimulation (including tactile stimulation by adults during adult-infant face-to-face interactions) and infant affect and attentional responses to changes in adult vocal and facial expressions of emotions during social interactions. Recent work includes: infant sensitivity to adult contingent stimulation and changes in eye-direction, as well as the use of eye-direction cues by infants and young children to evaluate their theory of mind.

Selected Publications

Flom, R., Lee, K., & Muir, D. (2007). Gaze-Following: Its Development and Significance. New Jersey: Erlbaum.

McCarthy, A., Lee, K., Itakura, S., & Muir, D.W. (in press). Cultural display rules drive eye gaze during thinking. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.

Nadel, J., & Muir, D. (Eds.) (2005). Emotional Development: Current and future research directions. Oxford University Press; Oxford, UK.

Muir, D., Lee, K., Hains, C., & Hains, S. (2005). Infant perception and production of emotions during face-to-face interactions with live and "virtual" adults. In Nadel, J., & Muir, D. (Eds.) Emotional Development: Current and future research directions. Oxford University Press. (pp. 207-234).

Muir, D., & Slater, A. (2004). The scope and methods of developmental psychology. In Alan Slater & Gavin Bremner (Eds). Developmental Psychology: An introduction (41 pages + figures). Oxford: Blackwell.

Smith, L., & Muir, D. (2004). Infant perception of dynamic faces: emotion & eye direction effects. In O. Pascalis & Slater, A. (Eds.). The development of face processing in infancy and early childhood: current perspectives. New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Muir, D., & Hains, S. (2004). The U-shaped developmental function for auditory localization. Journal of Cognition and Development, 1, 123-130.

Muir, D.W., & Lee, K. (2003). The still-face effect: methodological issues and new applications. Infancy, 4, 483-491.

Muir, D. (2002). Adult Communications with infants through touch: the forgotten sense. Human Development.

Fearon, I, Hains, S., Muir, D. & Kisilevsky (2002). Development of tactile responses in human preterm and full-term infants from 30 to 40 weeks post-conceptional age. Infancy.