Should each rock look unique?

For 8- to 10-month-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. We will show your baby a series of short videos showing either a number of identical or different rocks placed on a table one by one. And we will learn how your baby think about each rock's visual uniqueness.

Imagine going on a hike and finding stone after stone that looks exactly the same. As adults, we might find this surprising because we expect things in nature, such as rocks and twigs, to look different from one another. In this study, we ask whether babies share this expectation. We predict that babies will be surprised to see multiple identical rocks, but not multiple identical manufactured objects. This would suggest that, early in life, babies already have different expectations about things found in nature and things made by people.

15 minutes

Each participant who is in the required age range will receive a $5 gift card from Amazon.com within two weeks of participating the study.