Who Should Get the Toy?

Children aged from 4 to 5 years old.

Your child will listen to a storyteller talk about her day, with two adults (Flower and Star) next to her. Flower and Star will react slightly differently to the story. After hearing about the day, your child will answer a few questions about what they saw, including deciding who the storyteller should give a toy to: Flower or Star.

Previous research has shown that children pick up on various social cues as they get older. For example, older children may notice easily that one person is listening while another person is distracted. We are testing whether younger children are sensitive to these sorts of cues. Compared to previous research, we are using shorter, simpler videos to investigate this question at younger ages. We are especially interested in when children notice things like where someone is looking (e.g., towards someone else vs. towards their own cell phone). This is especially important as people spend more time with phones in social situations.

5 minutes

We’ll email you a $5 Amazon.com gift card within a week.
(One gift card per child; the child must meet the eligibility criteria for the study. Guardian should provide valid consent, and the child should be visible during consent.)