Developmental Psychology - Dr. Christian Kliesch

Christian Kliesch is a member of the Developmental Psychology research group at the University of Potsdam since 2021. His research interests lie in children’s early communicative and social development and language evolution. In his work, he uses behavioural data, EEG, eye tracking and pupil dilation measures.

He completed his PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Lancaster in 2019 where he investigated children’s early understanding of communicative signals on their understanding of others’ actions. Prior to his PhD, he took an MSc in Evolution of Language and Cognition at the University of Edinburgh and an MA(Hons) in Psychology at the University of Glasgow.

He has worked as a research assistant at the Wortakrobaten lab in Mainz, the Lancaster Babylab, the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig) and the MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Leipzig).

Publications

Kliesch, C. (2024). Extending cognitive development into the body and the environment. MEFISTO. Journal of Medicine, Philosophy, and History, 8(1).

Xie, S., Hoehl, S., Moeskops, M., Kayhan, E., Kliesch, C., Turtleton, B., Köster, M., & Cichy, R.M. (2022). Visual category representations in the infant brain. Current Biology, 32, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.016

Kliesch, C., Parise, E., Reid, V. M., and Hoehl, S. (2021). The role of social signals in segmenting observed actions in eighteen-month-old children. Developmental Science,  25(3), https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13198

Köster, M., Langeloh, M., Kliesch, C., Kanngiesser, P., & Hoehl, S. (2021). The value of subsequent memory paradigms in uncovering neural mechanisms of early social learning. NeuroImage, 117978, doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117978

Köster, M., Langeloh, M., Kliesch, C., Kanngiesser, P., & Hoehl, S. (2020). Motor cortex activity during action observation predicts subsequent action imitation in human infants. NeuroImage, 116958. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116958

Roberts, S. G., Killin, A., Deb, A., Sheard, C., Greenhill, S. J., Sinnemäki, K., ... Kliesch, C., et al., (2020). CHIELD: the causal hypotheses in evolutionary linguistics database. Journal of Language Evolution. doi: 10.1093/jole/lzaa001

O’Grady, C., Kliesch, C., Smith, K., & Scott-Phillips, T. C. (2015). The ease, extent, and evolution of recursive mindreading, Evolution and Human Behavior 36(4), 313–324. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.01.004

Kliesch, C. (2012). Making sense of syntax—Innate or acquired? Contrasting Universal Grammar with other approaches to language acquisition. Journal of European Psychology Students, 3, 54–60. doi: 10.5334/jeps.au

Conference contributions

Kliesch, C., Maffongelli, L., Neumann, M.-T., Friederici, A., Paulus, M., & Altvater-Mackensen, N. (2021), A novel task to measure children’s planning of sequential and dependent actions, Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development, January 04–08, 2021, Budapest (HU)/Online

Kliesch, C., Hoehl, S., Reid, V.M. & Parise, E. (2019), Toddlers use communicative signals to segment actions [Paper], paEpsy, Universität Leipzig, Sept 09–12, 2019, Leipzig, (DE).

Köster, M., Langeloh, M., Kliesch, C., Kanngießer, P., & Höhl, S., (2019), Neuronal dynamics of infants’ understanding and learning from others’ actions [Symposium contribution], paEpsy, Universität Leipzig, Sept 09–12, 2019, Leipzig, (DE).

Kliesch, C., (2019), Parent-child interactions scaffold action segmentation in infancy and early childhood [Paper], Conference of the Scandinavian Association for Language & Cognition, Aarhus University, May 22–24, 2019, Aarhus, (DK).

Köster, M., Langeloh, M., Kliesch, C., Kanngießer, P., & Höhl, S., (2019), Neuronal dynamics of infants’ understanding and learning from others’ actions [Poster], SRCD Biennial Meeting, March 21–23, 2019, Baltimore (USA)

Kliesch, C., Hoehl, S., Reid, V. M. & Parise, E., (2019), Ostensive signals contribute to the segmentation of actions in toddlers [Poster], Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development, January 03–05, 2019, Budapest (HU)

Kliesch, C., Reid, V.M., Hoehl, S. & Parise, E., (2018), Communicative signals help toddlers segment actions [Poster], Potsdam Research Institute for Early Learning & Educational Action Conference, October 04–05, 2018, Potsdam (DE).

Kliesch, C., Reid, V. M., Hoehl, S. & Parise, E. (2018), The role of communicative signals in segmenting actions [Poster], Lancaster Conference on Infant and Child Development, September 04–08, 2018, Lancaster (UK).

Kliesch, C., Reid, V. M., Theakston, A., & Parise, E., (2018), Ostensive-referential communication modu- lates action interpretation at 9 months [Poster], International Congress of Infant Studies, June 30–July 3, 2018, Philadelphia (USA)

Kliesch, C., Reid, V. M., Theakston, A., & Parise, E., (2017), Anticipation of familiar, unexpected and novel actions in ostensive and non-ostensive contexts in 7-month-old infants [Poster], Lan- caster Conference on Infant and Child Development, August 22–25, 2017, Lancaster (UK)

Kliesch, C., Reid, V.M., Theakston, A., & Parise, E., (2017), Seven months’ understanding of everyday actions in communicative and non-communicative contexts [Paper], LuCiD Mini Conference, July 6–7, 2017, Lancaster (UK).

Kliesch, C., (2017), The effect of communication on infants’ understanding of actions: Evidence from Event-related potentials, eye-tracking and pupil dilation [Paper], Lancaster University Postgraduate Conference, June 27, 2017, Lancaster (UK)

Kliesch, C., Reid, V.M., Theakston, A., & Parise, E., (2016), Infants’ understanding and learning of expected, unexpected and novel actions in pedagogical and non-pedagogical contexts [Paper], LuCiD Conference, September 21–22, 2016, Manchester (UK)

Kliesch, C., Reid, V. M., Theakston, A., & Parise, E., (2016), Ostensive Communication and Teleological Understanding of Actions in 7 and 9-Month Old Infants [Poster], Lancaster Conference on Infant and Child Development, August 25–27, 2016, Lancaster (UK)

Kliesch, C., Reid, V. M., Theakston, A., & Parise, E., (2015), Ostensive Communication and Teleological Understanding of Actions in 7 and 9-Month Old Infants [Paper], LuCiD Conference, October 6–7, 2015, Liverpool (UK)

Kliesch, C., Reid, V.M., Theakston, A., & Parise, E., (2015), Ostensive Communication and Teleological Understanding of Actions in 7 and 9-Month Old Infants, [Paper], North West Doctoral Training Centre Psychology PathwayPostgraduate Conference, July 14, 2015, Liverpool (UK)

Kliesch, C., (2012), Implicit and explicit recursive mindreading [Paper], University of Edinburgh’s LEL Postgraduate Conference, May 14–16, 2012, Edinburgh (UK)