Professor Mark Nielsen
Professor

Mark Nielsen

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 56414

Background

Mark joined the School of Psychology in 2002 as a UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellow after completing his PhD at La Trobe University. His research interests lie in a range of inter-related aspects of socio-cognitive development in young human children and non-human primates. His current research is primarily focused on charting the origins and development of human cultural cognition.

He is:

  • a Senior Research Associate, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
  • a member of: Association for Psychological Science; Society for Research in Child Development; Australasian Human Development Association
  • an Associate Editor: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology; PLoS ONE
  • an Editorial Consultant: Child Development; Developmental Science

Availability

Professor Mark Nielsen is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Cognitive and computational psychology Psychology

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science, Flinders University
  • Postgraduate Diploma, La Trobe University

Research impacts

Mark has forged an international reputation for cutting-edge research on multiple aspects of developmental social cognition. Based on the quality of his research, he was presented with an Early Career Researcher Award from the International Society on Infant Studies (2006), a Research Excellence Award from the (then) Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (2009), and in 2016 was made a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. He has published over 100 papers, had his research feature in over 80 conference presentations and over 15 invited conference and colloquia talks.

Search Professor Mark Nielsen’s works on UQ eSpace

134 works between 1999 and 2025
All (134) Journal Article (116) Book Chapter (9) Conference Publication (8) Other Outputs (1)

81 - 100 of 134 works

2014

Journal Article

Video games and prosocial behavior: a study of the effects of non-violent, violent and ultra-violent gameplay

Tear, Morgan J. and Nielsen, Mark (2014). Video games and prosocial behavior: a study of the effects of non-violent, violent and ultra-violent gameplay. Computers in Human Behavior, 41, 8-13. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.002

Video games and prosocial behavior: a study of the effects of non-violent, violent and ultra-violent gameplay

2014

Journal Article

Knowledge and Belief Understanding Among Iranian and Australian Preschool Children

Shahaeian, Ameneh, Nielsen, Mark, Peterson, Candida C., Aboutalebi, Maedeh and Slaughter, Virginia (2014). Knowledge and Belief Understanding Among Iranian and Australian Preschool Children. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45 (10), 1643-1654. doi: 10.1177/0022022114548484

Knowledge and Belief Understanding Among Iranian and Australian Preschool Children

2014

Journal Article

Motivated empathy: the mechanics of the empathic gaze

Cowan, David G., Vanman, Eric J. and Nielsen, Mark (2014). Motivated empathy: the mechanics of the empathic gaze. Cognition and Emotion, 28 (8), 1522-1530. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2014.890563

Motivated empathy: the mechanics of the empathic gaze

2014

Journal Article

Exploring tool innovation: a comparison of Western and Bushman children

Nielsen, Mark, Tomaselli, Keyan, Mushin, Ilana and Whiten, Andrew (2014). Exploring tool innovation: a comparison of Western and Bushman children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 126, 384-394. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.05.008

Exploring tool innovation: a comparison of Western and Bushman children

2014

Journal Article

Groups' actions trump injunctive reaction in an incidental observation by young children

Turner, Cameron R., Nielsen, Mark and Collier-Baker, Emma (2014). Groups' actions trump injunctive reaction in an incidental observation by young children. PLoS One, 9 (9) e107375, e107375.1-e107375.10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107375

Groups' actions trump injunctive reaction in an incidental observation by young children

2014

Journal Article

Where culture takes hold: "overimitation" and its flexible deployment in Western, Aboriginal, and Bushmen children

Nielsen, Mark, Mushin, Ilana, Tomaselli, Keyan and Whiten, Andrew (2014). Where culture takes hold: "overimitation" and its flexible deployment in Western, Aboriginal, and Bushmen children. Child Development, 85 (6), 2169-2184. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12265

Where culture takes hold: "overimitation" and its flexible deployment in Western, Aboriginal, and Bushmen children

2014

Journal Article

Iranian Mothers' Disciplinary Strategies and Theory of Mind in Children: A Focus on Belief Understanding

Shahaeian, Ameneh, Nielsen, Mark, Peterson, Candida C. and Slaughter, Virginia (2014). Iranian Mothers' Disciplinary Strategies and Theory of Mind in Children: A Focus on Belief Understanding. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45 (7), 1110-1123. doi: 10.1177/0022022114534772

Iranian Mothers' Disciplinary Strategies and Theory of Mind in Children: A Focus on Belief Understanding

2013

Journal Article

Cultural and family influences on children's theory of mind development: a comparison of Australian and Iranian school-age children

Shahaeian, Ameneh, Nielsen, Mark, Peterson, Candida C. and Slaughter, Virginia (2013). Cultural and family influences on children's theory of mind development: a comparison of Australian and Iranian school-age children. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, OnlineFirst (4), 1-14. doi: 10.1177/0022022113513921

Cultural and family influences on children's theory of mind development: a comparison of Australian and Iranian school-age children

2013

Journal Article

Failure to demonstrate that playing violent video games diminishes prosocial behavior

Tear, Morgan J. and Nielsen, Mark (2013). Failure to demonstrate that playing violent video games diminishes prosocial behavior. PLoS ONE, 8 (7) e68382, e68382.1-e68382.7. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068382

Failure to demonstrate that playing violent video games diminishes prosocial behavior

2013

Journal Article

Object-directed imitation in children with high-functioning autism: testing the social motivation hypothesis

Nielsen, Mark, Slaughter, Virginia and Dissanayake, Cheryl (2013). Object-directed imitation in children with high-functioning autism: testing the social motivation hypothesis. Autism Research, 6 (1), 23-32. doi: 10.1002/aur.1261

Object-directed imitation in children with high-functioning autism: testing the social motivation hypothesis

2013

Journal Article

Is newborn imitation developmentally homologous to later social-cognitive skills?

Suddendorf, Thomas, Oostenbroek, Janine, Nielsen, Mark and Slaughter, Virginia (2013). Is newborn imitation developmentally homologous to later social-cognitive skills?. Developmental Psychobiology, 55 (1), 52-58. doi: 10.1002/dev.21005

Is newborn imitation developmentally homologous to later social-cognitive skills?

2013

Journal Article

Young children's imitative and innovative behaviour on the floating object task

Nielsen, Mark (2013). Young children's imitative and innovative behaviour on the floating object task. Infant and Child Development, 22 (1), 44-52. doi: 10.1002/icd.1765

Young children's imitative and innovative behaviour on the floating object task

2013

Journal Article

Why the confusion around neonatal imitation? A review

Oostenbroek, Janine, Slaughter, Virginia, Nielsen, Mark and Suddendorf, Thomas (2013). Why the confusion around neonatal imitation? A review. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 31 (4), 328-341. doi: 10.1080/02646838.2013.832180

Why the confusion around neonatal imitation? A review

2013

Conference Publication

Is the human mirror system operational at birth?

Slaughter, Virginia, Oostenbroek, Janine, Suddendorf, Thomas and Nielsen, Mark (2013). Is the human mirror system operational at birth?. ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Nov - 1 Dec, 2013. Lausanne, Switzerland: Frontiers Research Foundation. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00043

Is the human mirror system operational at birth?

2012

Journal Article

Childhood and advances in human tool use

Nielsen, Mark (2012). Childhood and advances in human tool use. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35 (4), 232-233. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X11001932

Childhood and advances in human tool use

2012

Journal Article

Fourteen-month-olds' imitation of differently aged models

Zmyj, Norbert, Daum, Moritz M., Prinz, Wolfgang, Nielsen, Mark and Aschersleben, Gisa (2012). Fourteen-month-olds' imitation of differently aged models. Infant and Child Development, 21 (3), 250-266. doi: 10.1002/icd.750

Fourteen-month-olds' imitation of differently aged models

2012

Journal Article

Social learning in humans and nonhuman animals: Theoretical and empirical dissections

Nielsen, Mark, Subiaul, Francys, Galef, Bennett, Zentall, Thomas and Whiten, Andrew (2012). Social learning in humans and nonhuman animals: Theoretical and empirical dissections. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 126 (2), 109-113. doi: 10.1037/a0027758

Social learning in humans and nonhuman animals: Theoretical and empirical dissections

2012

Journal Article

Imitation, pretend play, and childhood: Essential elements in the evolution of human culture?

Nielsen, Mark (2012). Imitation, pretend play, and childhood: Essential elements in the evolution of human culture?. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 126 (2), 170-181. doi: 10.1037/a0025168

Imitation, pretend play, and childhood: Essential elements in the evolution of human culture?

2012

Journal Article

Young children overimitate in third-party contexts

Nielsen, Mark, Moore, Chris and Mohamedally, Jumana (2012). Young children overimitate in third-party contexts. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 112 (1), 73-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.01.001

Young children overimitate in third-party contexts

2012

Journal Article

When the transmission of culture is child's play

Nielsen, Mark, Cucchiaro, Jessica and Mohamedally, Jumana (2012). When the transmission of culture is child's play. PLoS One, 7 (3) e34066, e34066.1-e34066.6. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034066

When the transmission of culture is child's play

Current funding

  • 2023 - 2025
    The Development and Diversity of Religious Cognition and Behaviour ((John Templeton Foundation) administered by The University of California Riverside)
    University of California, Riverside
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2021 - 2024
    Imitation learning in infancy
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2024
    To imitate or innovate: A new look at children's social learning strategies
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    The Consequences of Formal Education for Science and Religion (The Issachar Fund subaward administered by The University of Texas at Austin)
    University of Texas at Austin - Grants
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2017
    The developmental origins of tool innovation
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2013
    A brain stimulation and portable eye-tracking suite for human behavioural research
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2013
    Over-imitation, trial-and-error learning and the inter-generational transmission of information
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2011
    UQ Travel Awards Category 2 - Dr Mark Gregory Nielsen
    UQ Travel Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2013
    Charting the prevalence, time course and social-cognitive correlates of neonatal imitation.
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2009
    UQ Travel Awards Category 2, Dr Mark Nielsen
    UQ Travel Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2008
    Synchronic imitation in children with ASD: imitation and the social deficit hypothesis.
    APEX Foundation for Autism
    Open grant
  • 2007
    Imitation and Pretence in Human Children and Nonhuman Primates: Exploring the Origins of Cultural Cognition
    UQ Travel Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    Thinking about the future: The nature and development of mental time travel
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2006
    Actions, outcomes, agency and imitation. Why toddlers copy what others do.
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant
  • 2003
    An Investigation of Social Learning in Human Infants
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Mark Nielsen is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Young children¿s costly social learning: ritual vs. instrumental actions

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Frankie Fong

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Imitation and childrens social vs material priorities

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Frankie Fong

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Imitation and childrens social vs material priorities

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Frankie Fong

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Testing an Evolutionary Account of Inequity Aversion from Behind the Veil of Ignorance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Lionel Page

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Testing an Evolutionary Account of Inequity Aversion from Behind the Veil of Ignorance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Lionel Page

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Testing an Evolutionary Account of Inequity Aversion from Behind the Veil of Ignorance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Lionel Page

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Foundations of cumulative culture: What drives children to innovate or imitate.

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Frankie Fong

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Testing an Evolutionary Account of Inequity Aversion from Behind the Veil of Ignorance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Lionel Page

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Testing an Evolutionary Account of Inequity Aversion from Behind the Veil of Ignorance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Lionel Page

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Testing an Evolutionary Account of Inequity Aversion from Behind the Veil of Ignorance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Lionel Page

  • Doctor Philosophy

    To imitate or innovate: A new look at children's social learning

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Frankie Fong

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Testing an Evolutionary Account of Inequity Aversion from Behind the Veil of Ignorance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Lionel Page

  • Doctor Philosophy

    How Indonesian Matrilineal and Patrilineal Culture Affect Gender Norms in Imitation

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Frankie Fong

  • Doctor Philosophy

    A Developemntal Perspective on the Foundations of Ritual and Trust

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Jonathan Redshaw

Completed supervision

Enquiries

For media enquiries about Professor Mark Nielsen's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au