What is this study about?
We are interested in understanding how infants learn during everyday, typical interactions with their mother. To do this, we observe how infants and their mothers naturally act during play. By observing the naturalistic interactions between each mother and her child, we hope to understand how infants learn through playing as well as the different ways that their mother's presence may influence this pivotal aspect of development.
What kinds of tasks are involved in this study?
During each visit, each child and their mother will participate in two short play sessions that involve playing with toys. As they play, we ask mothers and infants to wear special cameras that will allow us to monitor where each is looking as they play. The cameras are head-mounted cameras that are located in a headband that is placed on the infant's head and in a pair of eyeglass frames that each mother is asked to wear. After play, we will measure infants' learning by presenting them with images on a computer screen and recording where infants' look.
Please be aware that this study involves visiting our lab in Davis for three visits about 3 weeks apart, each visit lasting around 1-2 hours each.
Who can I talk to if I have questions about this study?
If you are feeling unsure and want to learn more about this study before signing up, then please call or text the following number: (916) 894-8406
You can speak directly to an Infant Cognition Lab member who can answer any and all questions you might have.
FAQs:
How long is one visit?
One visit usually lasts between 1-2 hours. This usually depends on how many breaks we take throughout the appointment as we want to make sure that each infant is as comfortable and happy as possible throughout the appointment.
How many weeks apart are each visit?
Each visit is 3 weeks apart, but if something comes up then we are very flexible and can reschedule outside of those three weeks.
Is there compensation for participating?
After each visit, one $25 Target Gift Card is given for participation, totaling $75 at the end of all three visits.
Will I receive my child's results?
We don’t store any identifying information with your child’s data, which means that we can’t link our results to your child and tell you anything specific about your child’s abilities. Our study will tell us about the development of children in general, and not about differences between different children. However, once we will publish our findings from this study, we will update our publications page with the results. We will also keep this website up-to-date with any findings we may present at conferences.
Are the procedures of this study safe?
Absolutely! Most of the tasks that your child will do involve activities that your child likely does every day, like playing with toys and moving around on a playmat. In fact, many of the toys we use are commercially available. We don’t use any invasive procedures. For some of our tasks, we will use a special camera and an infrared light source to measure where your child is looking at the screen; the infrared light we use is common in our everyday lives. It is no different than the type of light children are exposed to from the sun or and other sources.
Where is our lab located?
It is important to be aware that we are not located on the UC Davis campus; we’re actually located just 2 miles east of campus. Our building is north of I-80 off of 2nd street, between Mace Blvd and Pole Line Rd and near Target. And parking is free!
Are other children allowed to attend an appointment?
Yes, but any other children that attend the appointment will not be able to stay in the same room that the study is being conducted in. If you bring another child or children with you, we will have a research assistant stay and play with your other child or children in a separate room during the study, where they can play with the many toys we have clean and ready for such an occasion.