Sarah is a rocket!

For 3- and 4-year-olds who are learning English only, and no other language

This study will take place on a video call, live with a researcher! Clicking on the “Schedule a time to participate” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works for you. In the study, your child will play a game with Lala and Didi, two "silly" puppets. Your child will first help Lala and Didi learn about different objects and animals by going through a picture book together with the experimenter. Then, the experimenter will show everyone some pictures of her friends. The puppets will each say a metaphor about the experimenter's friends (e.g., "Sarah is a rocket!" to mean that Sarah runs very fast), but only one of the metaphors will match with the friend's picture. Your child will be asked which of the two puppets said it better! Because this study investigates how children think about specific English sentences, it is only for children who are learning English and no other languages (monolingual English learners).

This study investigates the age at which children begin to understand creative language, such as simple metaphors. It looks more specifically at 3- and 4-year-olds who are learning English (and no other language). While metaphors are common in everyday speech, scientists do not agree about the age at which children can understand metaphorical language. We expect that if young children can understand metaphors, they should pick the puppet who said the "correct" metaphor (matching the picture and the context) most of the time. Our study will help distinguish between the metaphorical understanding of typically developing children at ages 3 and 4. Our findings could also be used to inform pedagogical and clinical practices, e.g., assessments for clinical populations that have difficulty with metaphorical language (e.g., individuals on the autism spectrum).

25 minutes

After you participate, we'll email you a $10 e-gift card within 5 days to thank you for your time (only one per child). Participants who live in the USA will receive a Barnes & Noble e-gift card. Participants who live in Canada will receive an Indigo e-gift card. To be eligible for compensation, we ask you to make sure that (1) your child is in the age range specified above, and (2) your child is visible during the Zoom session. Your child does not need to finish the entire study in order to be eligible for compensation.