We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

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Taylor Heffer
PhD

Assistant Professor

General Psychology

Faculty of Social Science and Humanities

Contact information

2 Simcoe Street - Room DTC 614-1B
Downtown Oshawa
2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5

905.721.8668

taylor.heffer@ontariotechu.ca

Background

Dr. Taylor Heffer received her MA and PhD in Lifespan Development Psychology from Brock University. After completing her PhD, Dr. Heffer completed an NSERC-funded postdoctoral fellowship working with Prof. Leah Somerville at Harvard University.

Dr. Heffer is a developmental psychologist interested in adolescent development, with a focus on understanding factors related to poor adjustment during this phase of life. Her research is focused on identifying cognitive and affective processes that contribute to elevated risk for mental health problems during adolescence. She is interested in how these factors interact to predict individual differences as well as stability and change in adolescent wellbeing over time. She uses a variety of methods, including self-report surveys, EEG, longitudinal analyses, and multiple indicators of development (pubertal status, age) to assess vulnerability during adolescence.

Dr. Heffer will be accepting graduate students starting in the fall of 2024. Please contact her directly with inquiries.

Curriculum vitae

Education

PhD, Developmental Psychology Brock University, St. Catharines
MA, Developmental Psychology Brock University, St. Catharines

Courses taught

Adolescence

Research and expertise

Research background and interests

Adolescent mental health
Cognitive and Affective mechanisms
Sensitivity to threats and reward
Individual differences and stability/change in wellbeing over time

Involvement

Selected publications
Heffer, T., van Noordt, S., & Willoughby, T. (2023). Developmental trajectories of sensitivity to threat in children and adolescents predict larger medial frontal theta differentiation during response inhibition. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsad009

Heffer, T., & Willoughby, T. (2022). Investigating the consistency of ERPs across threatening situations among children and adolescents. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-021-00957-y

Willoughby, T., Heffer, T., van Noordt, S., Desjardins, J., Segalowitz, S., & Schmidt, L. (2021). An ERP investigation of children and adolescents’ sensitivity to wins and losses during a peer observation manipulation. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 51, 100995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100995

Heffer, T., & Willoughby, T. (2021). A person-centered examination of emotion dysregulation, sensitivity to threat, and impulsivity among children and adolescents: An ERP study. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100900

Heffer, T., Lundale, C., Wylie, B. E., & Willoughby, T. (2021). Investigating sensitivity to threat with the Behavioral Inhibition Scale (BIS) among children, adolescents and university students: The role of negatively-phrased questions. Personality and individual differences, 170, 110416.

Heffer, T., & Willoughby, T. (2020). A longitudinal study investigating trajectories of sensitivity to threat over time and their association with alpha asymmetry among children and adolescents. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 46, 100863.

Heffer, T., & Willoughby, T. (2020). Sensitivity to negative feedback among children and adolescents: an ERP study comparing developmental differences between high-worriers and low-worriers. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 20, 624-635. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-020-00791-8
Presentations
Heffer, T., van Noordt, S., & Willoughby, T. (2023). Developmental trajectories of sensitivity to threat in children and adolescents predict larger medial frontal theta differentiation during response inhibition. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsad009

Heffer, T., & Willoughby, T. (2022). Investigating the consistency of ERPs across threatening situations among children and adolescents. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-021-00957-y

Willoughby, T., Heffer, T., van Noordt, S., Desjardins, J., Segalowitz, S., & Schmidt, L. (2021). An ERP investigation of children and adolescents’ sensitivity to wins and losses during a peer observation manipulation. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 51, 100995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100995

Heffer, T., & Willoughby, T. (2021). A person-centered examination of emotion dysregulation, sensitivity to threat, and impulsivity among children and adolescents: An ERP study. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100900

Heffer, T., Lundale, C., Wylie, B. E., & Willoughby, T. (2021). Investigating sensitivity to threat with the Behavioral Inhibition Scale (BIS) among children, adolescents and university students: The role of negatively-phrased questions. Personality and individual differences, 170, 110416.

Heffer, T., & Willoughby, T. (2020). A longitudinal study investigating trajectories of sensitivity to threat over time and their association with alpha asymmetry among children and adolescents. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 46, 100863.

Heffer, T., & Willoughby, T. (2020). Sensitivity to negative feedback among children and adolescents: an ERP study comparing developmental differences between high-worriers and low-worriers. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 20, 624-635. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-020-00791-8

Taylor Heffer PhD