Laura Mills-Smith

St. Lawrence welcomed me into the ranks of its faculty in the fall of 2017, after visiting at Roanoke College. As an undergraduate, I pursued degrees in Anthropology, English, and Psychology, with an interest in language and social interaction as the unifying factor. I attended Virginia Tech for graduate school, earning a Ph.D. in Psychology with specialization in Developmental Science in 2016.

My teaching responsibilities include Introductory Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and a developmental seminar.  In the past, I have also taught courses on Child Development and the Psychology of Learning.

My research interests focus on infant language learning and the social context in which it happens. In particular, I’m interested in how infants’ language processing and learning can benefit from attending to the social domain, even when they are nearing the limits of their cognitive resources. Included in these research questions are basic interests in audiovisual perception, face processing, joint attention, and the role and importance of contingency for language acquisition and social development. My future projects will consider these topics in infancy and early childhood.

Outside of the classroom and lab, I spend most of my time with my husband, children, and dogs. I like to watch hockey and science-fiction shows/movies. I also enjoy board games and crocheting.