Dr. Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, San Diego. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow working with Dr. Andrew Meltzoff. Before coming to the Institute, he earned a Ph.D. in developmental psychology at the University of Michigan, working with Drs. Henry Wellman, Susan Gelman, and Bill Gehring. Dr. Liu's current research focuses on how young children come to understand, and reason about, the social world, which is important for communication and learning both inside of school and in informal settings. His research examines the cognitive and brain basis of children's emerging understanding of concepts such as beliefs, desires, intentions, and traits. His brain measures focus on event-related potential (ERP) methods to determine neural differences involved with reasoning about these different mental states. Dr. Liu's research should help form interdisciplinary bridges between cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, and other allied disciplines.
