Who's That On The Screen?

For 4- to 24-month-old infants

In this study, we're interested in how your child responds when they see themselves and other babies on a screen! First, your child will see an exciting jumping dot moving around the screen, which is intended to get their attention. Then, your child will see a live video feed of themselves, followed by a video of a baby just like them, with calm music playing alongside. While the videos are running, we will record your child's reactions and behaviors. To close out the study, you will see some questions about your child's experience with seeing themselves on screens and in mirrors.

One of the first things an infant encounters is themselves, but we know only little about the nature and origins of the "self" and how it may change while growing up. In this study, we aim to broadly explore how infants at the very beginning of their development react and behave when seeing themselves on a screen, and how their responses compare to seeing other babies who aren’t them.

8 minutes

We will send you a $5 Amazon.com gift card within a week. To be eligible for the gift card, (1) your child must be in the age range for this study, (2) you need to submit a valid consent statement, and (3) we need to see that there is a child with you during the experiment. Each child can only participate in this study once.