Current In-Person Studies

Social interaction in the infant brain

Age Range: 7-9 months

Social interaction is a key part of life from infancy onward. One way for babies to learn how social interactions work is by watching them. This study asks how the infant brain responds when babies are watching social interactions. This appointment will take ~20 minutes altogether, and your baby will wear a cloth fNIRS cap.

*This study involves fNIRS Data Collection. You can read more about it here*

How do infants respond to 3rd and 1st party social interactions?

Age Range: 9-12 months

In a 30-minute study, your baby will watch videos of someone looking at an object while wearing a cloth NIRS cap. Does your baby recognize objects they have seen before? What brain regions are activated while watching these videos?

*This study involves fNIRS Data Collection. You can read more about it here*

Do infants help people struggling at a task?

Age Range: 14-20 months

We are studying brain development related to helping and empathy! In a 30-minute study in the lab, your baby will wear a cloth NIRS cap and watch videos of people struggling or succeeding, and also have the chance to help an experimenter with minor problems.


*This study involves fNIRS Data Collection. You can read more about it here*

Causal reasoning in children

Age Range: 17 months - 10 years

In this study, we are investigating how children come to understand cause and effect relationships. We use novel toys and activities to help us learn about how children interpret and infer cause and effect and how this understanding relates to other aspects of cognition. Your child will play between 1-3 games, depending on their age, and will be asked a few questions about each one.

How do children judge what is real or pretend?

Age Range: 3-7 years

We’re exploring how young children form judgments about reality in a technology-mediated world! Your child will engage in age-appropriate activities designed to be both educational and entertaining. The appointment will take approximately 30 minutes, with the study taking only 15 minutes.