Studies

Expectations in infants (4- & 6-month-olds)

As adults, we have a sophisticated set of expectations that helps us understand the world around us. For example, if there is lightning, we can expect rain. If we hear sirens, we can expect to see an ambulance, a firetruck, or a police car. So, how do infants develop expectations? In this study, we look at infants' ability to detect simple event patterns by showing infants a sequence of shapes on a computer screen. A simple pattern is present in this sequence: circles will always be followed by "pluses" on the right and squares will always be followed by "pluses" on the left. So the research question is: can young infants detect this pattern? Of course, we can't verbally ask a young infant if they see the pattern. However, we can look at their eye movements to see if, for instance, they move their eyes to the correct side of the plus before it appears. In other words, can they anticipate the correct location of the plus? If they can, then we can say that infants learned to expect where the plus was going to appear. Obviously, this type of expectation is not the same as the more complex expectations seen in adults and older children. Nevertheless, such an ability to detect simple patterns is probably a basic building block to more sophisticated expectations seen in later development.

Object recognition in infants (5-month-olds)

Are these two teapots the same?

Most of us recognize that the teapot on the left is just a rotated version of the one on the right. In other words, these are pictures of the same objects that differ only in viewpoint. Children and adults clearly have the ability to recognize objects across different views. So how does this ability develop during infancy? Do young babies see the two teapot pictures as two completely different objects? In this study, we present an infant with an object on a computer screen. The baby will learn the object and will get bored over time. Then, we show the infant one of two things: either a new view of the same object or a completely different object. If young babies have the ability to recognize objects across changing views, then they should be: (1) less interested in a new view of the same object and (2) more interested in a completely different object. This research tell us how well infants recognize people, places, and things.

Television learning in infants (14- to 17-month-olds)

Does your infant watch television? For most parents the answer is "yes". Have you ever wondered if the educational videos/shows your infant watches actually "work"? Or do infants learn anything from watching television? These were the types of questions that motivated this study. Infants love to imitate others, something you may have already noticed. In this study your infant will learn a game: pressing a button on a toy makes a noise (for example, the button makes a "moo" sound on the toy cow). They will learn this game either on an actual (3D) toy (cow, duck, bus or fire truck) or on a touchscreen computer (2D - like a TV). The touchscreen computer has a picture of the toy on it. When the "button" on the screen is pressed, the toy on the monitor "moos", "quacks", "beeps" or plays a siren sound. Our assistants will demonstrate the game and then your child will have a turn. The length of the entire game is only 5 minutes! Learning by imitation is an important part of development. Your child can teach us a lot about infant learning.

Face recognition in children (7.5- to 8.5-year-olds)

Think about all the faces you can recognize: people at work, celebrities on TV, neighbors, friends, family members, and even old acquaintances whom you haven't seen in years. You probably don't realize how many thousands of faces you have stored in your memory. You, like most adults, are a "face expert" -- you can easily identify a familiar face out of a crowd of strangers. Kids, however, are not quite as good as adults when it comes to faces. This important skill comes about through years of experience with thousands of different faces. When children meet a new person, they seem to focus on certain information on a face, different from those used by adults. For example, look at these two faces:

If you see the difference between the two faces, this is an indication that you tend to process faces as whole objects, as most adults do. Children, on the other hand, tend to memorize each individual piece of a face. As a result, a child would more likely see these faces as being the same, because the eye color is the same or the shape of the nose is the same. This study looks at the memory strategies used by children to recognize faces. At what age do they shift to adult strategies and what causes this shift? We believe that children can use the same face processing strategies as adults, under the right conditions. To investigate, we use moving 3D faces on a touchscreen monitor to make it easier and more fun for children to demonstrate their face recognition skills. The study is presented as a game, in which the child must decide whether two faces are the "same" or "different." They will select their answer by touching a button on the touchscreen. Your child's response will help us understand how children recognize faces.