In-Person and Online Studies!

We invite you to participate in our research! We conduct studies online and in-person. Our studies are for children between 14 months and 6 years of age, and we would love for your family to participate.

What is a typical in-person study like?

Our in-person studies are very simple, entirely safe, and fun -- most children really enjoy them! Studies generally involve one visit to our lab in the Psychology Building, and take about half an hour. In most studies, your child will sit on your lap or be close to you at all times. Toys to play with and baby-sitting for siblings are all provided at the lab. Every child who participates can choose a book to take home or a $5 Amazon gift card as our way of saying thanks. We conduct two main kinds of studies, looking-time studies and eye-tracking studies:

In looking-time studies, your child watches a series of events on a TV display. The events are accompanied by sentences. When given a choice, children (and adults!) tend to look at objects and events that match the language they hear. Therefore we can use their looking patterns to study how they understand the sentences we present. We videotape children during the task, and later code where they looked during key periods in the task to figure out how they understood each sentence.
In eye-tracking studies, your child watches short video clips or listens to stories while viewing pictures of the story characters. During key periods in the task, we use our automatic eye-tracker to measure where children are looking on the computer screen. This technology is completely safe and just involves asking your child to wear a small sticker on their forehead as they watch the video.

Below are our current in-person studies. Please feel free to use our online scheduling software to book an appointment with us (just click the button, choose a day and time that works for you, and answer a few questions)!

	Do children use grammar to learn new words? Age range: 14-17.9 months old Appointment Duration: 30 minutes Requirements: for kids who mostly hear English at home Your child will watch a video with simple animations to help us find out how they use grammar to learn new words.
	Can toddlers keep track of what others know? Age range: 18-27.9 months old Appointment Duration: 30 minutes Requirements: none Your child will watch simple puppet shows designed to help us understand how children reason about the actions of others.

Do children use grammar to learn new words?

Age range: 14-17.9 months old
Appointment Duration: 30 minutes
Requirements: for kids who mostly hear English at home
Your child will watch a video with simple animations to help us find out how they use grammar to learn new words.

Can toddlers keep track of what others know?

Age range: 18-27.9 months old
Appointment Duration: 30 minutes
Requirements: none
Your child will watch simple puppet shows designed to help us understand how children reason about the actions of others.

What is a typical online study like?

Our online studies are conducted via Zoom! The studies are short and fun, and we will offer your family a $5 Amazon gift card to thank you for participating. We conduct one main kind of study online, looking-time studies:

In looking-time studies, your child will watch short videos on the computer screen. At critical points in the video, we measure where on the computer screen your child is looking. We use this information to tell us how children understand the events they see, or how they learn new words.

Below are our current online studies. Please feel free to use our online scheduling software to book an appointment with us (just click the button, choose a day and time that works for you, and answer a few questions)!

	Do children use grammar to learn new words? Age range: 14-17.9 months old Appointment Duration: 30 minutes Requirements: for kids who mostly hear English at home Your child will watch a video with simple animations to help us find out how they use grammar to learn new words.
	Can children use recent experience to learn new words? Age range: 22-25.9 months old AND 36-47.9 months old Appointment Duration: 30 minutes Requirements: for kids who mostly hear English at home Your child will watch short videos with animal puppets and hear sentences describing them. We will record how long they look at each video. Your child will also watch a familiarization video 1 day before the appointment.

Do children use grammar to learn new words?

Age range: 14-17.9 months old
Appointment Duration: 30 minutes
Requirements: for kids who mostly hear English at home
Your child will watch a video with simple animations to help us find out how they use grammar to learn new words.

Can children use recent experience to learn new words?

Age range: 22-25.9 months old AND 36-47.9 months old
Appointment Duration: 30 minutes
Requirements: for kids who mostly hear English at home
Your child will watch short videos with animal puppets and hear sentences describing them. We will record how long they look at each video. Your child will also watch a familiarization video 1 day before the appointment.

How can I get involved?

If you would like to participate with your child in one of our studies, you may also use this form to volunteer! You can also contact us at (217) 244-6098 or by e-mail at lalab@illinois.edu. An appointment can be made to suit your schedule (mornings, afternoons, or evenings). We would be very happy to hear from you!