Jake Burack

Title: 
Dr.
Academic title(s): 

Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Jake Burack
Contact Information
Email address: 
jake.burack [at] mcgill.ca
Phone: 
514-398-3433
Fax number: 
514-398-6968
Department: 
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology
Degree(s): 

Ph.D., Yale University

M.Phil., Yale University

M.Sc., Yale University

B.A., Columbia University

Areas of expertise: 

As members of the McGill Youth Study Team, my students and I are engaged primarily in two areas of study. One is the development of attention and cognition among typically developing children, persons with autism, and persons with Down syndrome. The other area of research is the study of cultural identity and other predictors of academic success, social adaptation, and emotional well-being among First Nations adolescents from northern communities. Our theoretical writing is primarily about the interface of typical and atypical development, and the contributions of developmental theory and methodology to the study of persons whose development is at-risk.

Selected publications: 

Forthcoming publications

Burack, J.A., Stewart, J., & Landry, O. (under contract). Historical perspectives on developmental contributions to the study of persons with Down syndrome. In J. A. Burack, J. Edgin, L. J. Abbeduto, & J. Busciglio (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of Down syndrome and development.New York: Oxford University Press.

Burack, J. A., Russo, N., Kovshoff, H., Fernandes, T.P., Ringo, J., Landry, O., & Iarocci, G. (in press). How I attend - not how well do I attend:  Rethinking developmental frameworks of attention and cognition in autism spectrum disorder and typical development. In V. K. Jaswal, N. Akhtar, & J. A. Burack (Eds.), Building bridges: Cognitive development in typical and atypical populations. New York: Routledge.

Blacklock, A.,Schmidt, L. A, Fryberg, S., Klassen, G. H., Querengesser, J., Stewart, J., Campbell, C.A., Flores, H., Reynolds, A., Tootoosis, C., & Burack, J.A. (in press). Identification with mainstream, but not ancestral, culture is associated with increased problem behaviors among First Nations youth. Transcultural Psychiatry.

Burack, J.A., Gurr, E.,Stubbert, E., & Weva, V. (In Press). Personality development among indigenous youth in Canada: Weaving together universal and community-specific perspectives. New Ideas in Psychology.

 

Journal articles

Campbell, C. A., Russo, N., Landry, O., Jankowska, A. M., Stubbert, E., Jacques, S., & Burack, J. A. (2017). Nonverbal, rather than verbal, functioning may predict cognitive flexibility among persons with autism spectrum disorder: A preliminary study. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 38, 19-25. 

Goldman, K. J., Shulman, C., & Burack, J. A. (2017). Attention allocation to facial expressions of emotion among persons with Williams and Down syndromes. Development and Psychopathology, 29, 1189-1197.

Goldman, K J., Burack, J. A., & Shulman, C. (2017). Learning from facial expressions in individuals with Williams syndrome.Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 60, 982-992.

Goldman, K J., Shulman, C., Bar-Haim, Y., Abend, R., & Burack, J. A. (2017). Attention allocation to facial expressions of emotion among persons with Williams and Down syndromes. Development and Psychopathology, 29, 1189-1197.

Gordon Green, C., Babineau, V., Jolicoeur-Martineau, A., Bouvette-Turcot, A.A., Minde, K., Sassi, R., St- Andre, M., Carrey, N., Atkinson, L., Kennedy, J., Steiner, M., Lydon, J., Gaudreau, H., Burack, J. A., Levitan, R., Meaney, M., & Wazana, A. (2017). Prenatal maternal depression and child serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and dopamine receptor (DRD4) genotype predict negative emotionality from 3 to 36 months. Development and Psychopathology, 29, 901-917.

Burack, J. A., Russo, N., Kovshoff, H., Fernandes, T.P., Ringo, J., Landry, O., & Iarocci, G. (2016). How I attend - not how well do I attend:  Rethinking developmental frameworks of attention and cognition in autism spectrum disorder and typical development. Journal of Cognition and Development, 17, 553-567.

Jaswal, V. K., Akhtar, N., and Burack, J. A. (2016). Building bridges: Cognitive development in typical and atypical populations. Journal of Cognition and Development, 17, 549-552.

Schmidt, L. A., Burack, J. A., & van Lieshout, R. J. (2016). Themed issue on developmental origins of adult mental health and illness. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 7, 564.

Flanagan, T., Brodeur, D., & Burack, J. A. (2015). A point of departure in the comparison of social and nonsocial visual orienting among persons with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Research, 8, 575-582. 

Kovshoff, H., Shore, D. I., Iarocci, G., & Burack, J. A. (2015). Developmental trajectories of form perception: A story of attention. Developmental Psychology, 51, 1544-1552.

Brodeur, D., Gordon Green, C., Flores, H., & Burack, J. A. (2014). Time estimation among low-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders: Evidence of poor sensitivity to variability of short durations. Autism Research, 7, 237-244. doi: 10.1002/aur.1364

Lane, K., Stewart, J., Fernandes, T., Russo, N., Enns, J. T., Burack, J. A. (2014). Complexities in understanding attentional functioning among children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 119. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00119

 Stanutz, S., Wapnick, J., & Burack, J. A. (2014). Pitch discrimination and melodic memory in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 18, 137-147. doi: 10.1017/S095457941200123X

Burack, J. A., D’Arrisso, A., Ponizovsky, V., Troop-Gordon, W., Mandour, T., Tootoosis, C., Robinson, S., Iarocci, G., & Fryberg, S. (2013). Friends and grades: Peer preference and attachment predict academic success among Naskapi youth. School Psychology International, 13, 371-386. doi:10.1177/0143034312446888

Fryberg, S., Troop-Gordon, W., D’Arrisso, A., Flores, H., Ponizovskiy, V., Ranney, J. D., Mandour, T., Tootoosis, C., Robinson, S., Russo, N., & Burack, J. A. (2013).  Cultural mismatch and the education of Aboriginal youth: The interplay of cultural identities and teacher ratings. Developmental Psychology. 49, 72-79. doi:  10.1037/a0029056

Books and monographs

Jaswal, V. K., Akhtar, N., and Burack, J. A. (2018). Building bridges: Cognitive development in typical and atypical populations. New York: Routledge.

Burack, J. A., & Schmidt, L. A. (Eds.) (2014). Cultural and contextual perspectives on developmental risk and well-being. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Burack, J. A., Enns, J. T., & Fox, N. A. (Eds.) (2012). Cognitive neuroscience, development, and psychopathology: Typical and atypical developmental trajectories of attention. New York: Oxford University Press.

Burack, J. A., Hodapp, R. M., Iarocci, G., & Zigler, E. (Eds.) (2012). The Oxford handbook of intellectual disability and development. New York: Oxford University Press.

Articles / chapters in books and monographs

Fryberg, S. A., Covarrubias, R. & Burack, J. A. (online 2017). The ongoing psychological colonization of North American indigenous people: Using social psychological theories to promote social justice. In P. Hammock (Ed.), Oxford handbook of social psychology and social justice.New York: Oxford University Press.

Burack, J. A., Campbell, C. A.,Landry, O., & Huizinga, M. (2017). Sports as a metaphor for understanding the development of executive function and mis-function. In M. Hoskyn, G. Iarocci & A. Young (Eds.), Executive functions in children's everyday lives: A handbook for professionals in applied psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Burack, J. A., Jefferies, L. N., Ringo, J., & Landry, O. (2017). Attention. In B. Hopkins, E. Geangu, & S. Linkenauger (Eds.), Cambridge encyclopedia of child development. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Burack, J. A., Reynolds, A., Landry, O., Klassen, G., Russo, N., & Fryberg, S. (2017). Cultural influences and perspectives on developmental psychopathology: Evidence from aboriginal communities in North America. In D. Williams & L. Centifanti (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology. Cambridge, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Huizinga, M., Baeyens, D., Ouwehand, C., & Burack, J. A. (2017). Executive functions. In B. Hopkins, E. Geangu, & S. Linkenauger (Eds.), Cambridge encyclopedia of child development. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Burack, J. A., Russo, N., Gordon Green, C., Landry, O., & Iarocci, G. (2016). Developments in the developmental approach to intellectual disability. In D. Cicchetti (Ed.), Developmental psychopathology (Vol. 3): Maladaptation and psychopathology (pp.1-67).New York: Wiley. 

Burack, J. A., & Schmidt, L. (2014). Introductory remarks: Cultural and contextual perspectives on developmental risk and well-being. In J.A. Burack & L.A. Schmidt (Eds.), Cultural and contextual perspectives on developmental risk and well-being (pp. 1-4). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Burack, J.A., Bombay, A., Flores, H., Stewart, J., & Ponizovsky, V. (2014). Developmental perspectives on the role of cultural identity in well-being: Evidence from First Nations communities in Canada. In J.A. Burack & L.A. Schmidt (Eds.), Cultural and contextual perspectives on developmental risk and well-being (pp. 81-105). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Iarocci, G., Porporino, M., Enns, J. T., & Burack, J. A. (2012). The development of attention: Issues of etiology and trajectory. In J. A. Burack, R. M. Hodapp, G. Iarocci, & E. Zigler (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of intellectual disability and development. New York: Oxford University Press.

Burack, J. A., Hodapp, M., Iarocci, G., & Zigler, E. (2012). On knowing more: Future issues for developmental approaches to intellectual disabilities. In J. A. Burack, R. M. Hodapp, G. Iarocci, & E. Zigler (Eds.), Oxford handbook of intellectual disability and development (pp. 395-401). New York: Oxford University Press.

 

Specialization: 

The development of attention and cognition among typically developing children, persons with autism, and persons with specific syndromes associated with intellectual disabilities.

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