Daphne Maurer facts for kids

Daphne Maurer is a famous Canadian scientist. She is a developmental psychologist and a professor at McMaster University. She studies how humans, especially babies, learn to see and understand the world around them.

Early Life and Education

Daphne Maurer went to college at Swarthmore College. She earned a master's degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Later, she received her PhD in child development from the University of Minnesota.

Discoveries About Vision

Professor Maurer's lab at McMaster University is called the Visual Development Lab. Her team works to understand how our vision develops. They also study synaesthesia, which is when your senses mix, like seeing colors when you hear music.

She has written over 200 scientific papers. These papers have appeared in top journals like Nature and Science. Her work has really changed how we think about how babies see and how their vision grows.

Real-World Impact

Even though much of her work is basic science, it has helped in real life. For example, her research has improved treatments for babies born with cataracts. Cataracts are cloudy spots in the eye's lens that can block vision.

Her studies have also shown that playing certain video games can help adults with amblyopia. This condition is sometimes called "lazy eye."

Helping Kids See Better

Professor Maurer also looked into how to check the vision of young children. She studied how useful and practical it was to screen kindergarteners in Ontario, Canada. Her research showed that it was a good idea to check every child's vision. Because of her work, Ontario started checking all senior kindergarten students' vision in the 2018–2019 school year. This helps make sure kids get help early if they have vision problems.

Books for Everyone

In 1988, Daphne Maurer and her husband, Charles Maurer, wrote a book called The World of the Newborn. This book explains how a newborn baby develops from the baby's own point of view. A review said it was a "landmark book" that offered a "fresh perspective." The New York Times also praised it. The book won an award from the American Psychological Association and was translated into five languages.

In 2019, they published another book, Pretty Ugly: Why we like some songs, faces, foods, plays, pictures, poems, etc., and dislike others. This book uses science and history to explain why people (and even some animals) find certain things beautiful or ugly.

Professor Maurer has also shared her knowledge with many news outlets. She has talked about child development, vision, and synaesthesia for places like The New York Times and New Scientist. She also cares a lot about research ethics. She spent seven years on Canada's national advisory panel for research ethics.

Awards and Honors

Daphne Maurer has received many important awards. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. This is a high honor for Canadian scholars. She is also a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In 2015, she won the Donald O. Hebb Distinguished Contribution Award. This award is from the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science. McMaster University gave her the title Distinguished University Professor in 2011. In 2017, they gave her an honorary degree.

In 2024, she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. This is one of the highest honors a Canadian citizen can receive.

Publications

• Maurer, D., & Maurer, C. The World of the Newborn. New York: Basic Books, 1988.
• Maurer, C., & Maurer, D. Pretty Ugly: Why we like some songs, faces, foods, plays, pictures, poems, etc., and dislike others. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019.