Claire Hughes

Claire Hughes is a Fellow at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with the School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Psychology. Her research focuses on developmental psychology, family relationships, executive function, theory of mind, scaffolding in parent-child interactions, and mental health. She examines the transition to parenthood and the role of early parent-infant interactions in mediating relations between prenatal wellbeing and the early development of executive control and self-regulation. Her methodological approaches include longitudinal designs, experimental tasks, video-based coding, and automated analysis of linguistic environments.

Prof. Claire Hughes focuses on child development, with particular emphasis on families, executive function, and theory of mind. Her research explores the interplay between cognitive and social development in early childhood, examining how executive function and theory of mind relate to verbal ability, social relations, and mental health. She investigates executive dysfunction in autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, as well as the role of family environments in shaping early executive function. Her work also addresses the longitudinal associations between mental-state understanding and social experiences, contributing to understanding typical and atypical development.