Let's learn some alien words!

For 2- to 3-and-a-half year-olds

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.
During the zoom session, your child will interact with a live researcher and watch some videos featuring some friendly astronauts learning about some funny, cute aliens. We'll ask your child to watch and listen carefully, because in each video, they will hear some new words to describe the aliens. After each video with a new group of aliens, your child will see some new aliens on screen, and hear the new word again. We'll ask your child to choose between the two aliens, based on what they saw and heard! Along the way, as your child participates, your child will also help our astronauts build a map of the solar system!

In this study, we’re interested in how the language a child already knows can help them learn brand-new words. We’re especially interested in words like adjectives. These aren’t necessarily the first words children produce or learn, but all grown-up adults use them, and they’re especially important when children learn to read, write, and describe the world around them. The more we know about how information supports learning adjectives, the more we understand about language development as a whole. This particular study looks at what kinds of expectations we have when we hear new adjectives that describe the way things (or friendly aliens!) look. How do these adjectives highlight certain kinds of properties your child can observe?

15 minutes

$5 Amazon.com gift card. After you finish the study, we will email you an Amazon gift card within 1 week. To be eligible for compensation, the following criteria must be met: (1) your child must be in the age range for this study and must not have previously done this study; (2) You must have provided informed consent. Once you've started the study, your child may choose to stop at anytime and still receive compensation.