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Dr. Victoria Talwar

Title: 
Professor
Academic title(s): 

Director, Daniel and Monica Gold Centre for Early Childhood Development | Canada Research Chair Tier I 

Dr. Victoria Talwar
Contact Information
Email address: 
victoria.talwar [at] mcgill.ca
Phone: 
514-398-3438
Address: 

Education Building
3700 rue McTavish
Montréal, Quebec H3A 1Y2
Canada

Group: 
Centre Director
Division: 
School/Applied Child Psychology Supervisors
Department: 
Educational and Counselling Psychology (ECP)
Professional activities: 
Area(s): 
Developmental Psychology and Inclusive Education
Educational Technology and Teaching Innovation
Mental Health, Intervention and Psychopathology
Areas of expertise: 
  • Child Development
  • Cognition
  • Technology in Education
  • Development of lying in children
  • Theory of mind
  • Child witness testimony
Biography: 

A member of McGill's Faculty of Education since 2004, Dr. Talwar is a Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, where she served as Department Chair from 2020 until becoming Interim Dean in 2023 for a one-year appointment. Dr. Talwar is the inaugural Director of the Daniel and Monica Gold Centre for Early Childhood Development as well as an Associate Member of both the Institute for Human Development and Well-Being (IHDW) and the Department of Psychology.

Named as a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 (SSHRC) in Forensic Developmental Psychology in November 2024, she held the Tier II Canada Research Chair in Forensic Developmental Psychology from 2012 to 2022. A former James McGill Professor, she is an accomplished scholar widely recognized for her work in developmental psychology and law. Dr. Talwar’s innovative interdisciplinary research on children’s verbal deception, moral development and child witness competency issues has informed current debates about children’s social-cognitive development and has contributed to legal reform in Canada. Her teaching and supervision have been recognized through several awards including the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools Teaching (Doctoral level) Award and Ï㽶ÊÓƵ’s David Thomson Award for Graduate Supervision and Teaching. Prof. Talwar holds a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Queen's University, and a Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of St. Andrews.

Link(s): 
Degree(s): 
  • Ph.D., Queen's University
  • M.A., University of St. Andrews
Prizes and Awards: 
Canada Research Chair (Tiers I and II)
Awards, honours, and fellowships: 
  • 2024 Canada Research Chair Tier 1 (SSHRC) in Forensic Developmental Psychology
  • 2018 Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS) Graduate Teaching Award (Doctoral-level)
  • 2017 Member, College of the Royal Society of Canada
  • 2017 David Thomson Award for Graduate Supervision and Teaching, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
  • 2016 Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
  • 2015 Fellow, Developmental Psychology (Division 7), American Psychological Association
  • 2012-22 Canada Research Chair Tier 2 (SSHRC) in Forensic Developmental Psychology
Selected publications: 
  • Mugno, A., Malloy, L.C., Waschbusch, D.A., Pelham, W.E., & Talwar, V. (2019). An experimental investigation of antisocial lie-telling among children with disruptive behavior disorders and typically-developing children. Child Development, 90, 774-789.
  • Shouhoudi-Mojdehi, A., Leduc, K., Shouhoudi, A., & Talwar, V. (2019). Examining cross-cultural differences in youth’s moral perceptions of cyberbullying. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking,Ìý22, 243-248.
  • Talwar, V., Lavoie, J., Crossman, A. (2019). Carving Pinocchio: Longitudinal examination of children’s lying for different goals. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,Ìý181, 34-55.
  • Leduc, K., Conway, L., Gomez-Garibello, C., & Talwar, V. (2018). The influence of participant role, gender, and age in elementary and high-school children’s moral justifications of cyberbullying behaviors. Computers in Human Behavior,Ìý83, 215-220
  • Yachison, S., Okoshken, J., & Talwar, V. (2018). Students’ reactions to a peer’s cheating behavior. Journal of Educational Psychology,Ìý110, 747-763
  • Conway, L., Gomez-Garibello, C., Shariff, S., & Talwar, V. (2016). Face-to-face and online: An investigation of children’s and adolescents’ bullying behavior through the lens of moral emotions and judgments. Journal of School Violence,Ìý15, 503-522
Program: 
  • M.A. Human Development
  • M.A. School/Applied Psychology
  • Ph.D. Human Development
  • Ph.D. School/Applied Psychology
Graduate supervision: 

Accepting Masters and Ph.D. students for 2025-26

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