Favorite Fruits!

For children aged 5 to 6 years who are hearing English at home.

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. On a Zoom call with a researcher, your child will meet a set of cartoon aliens who each like to eat a certain colored fruit. Your child will watch videos showing the aliens’ fruit preferences, and they will answer questions about which fruit each alien likes. Then, they will meet a few new aliens and decide which colored fruits those new aliens might prefer. Because we’re focusing on children’s use of English color words, we can only include children who are hearing English at home.

We are interested in understanding how children learn rules and generalize them across groups. For instance, it is generally believed that cats like to eat fish; although some cats do not and are exceptions to this rule. When do children form a rule about aliens preferring a certain fruit? For example, if children learn that 60% of aliens like the same fruit, does that mean they will infer that all other aliens like the same fruit? How many exceptions to the rule will children allow before they bypass learning the rule altogether?

15 minutes

As a token of appreciation, you will receive a $5 Amazon.com e-gift card within 2 weeks. You are eligible for this payment if your child meets all the eligibility criteria, is present in the Consent Video at the start of the study, and has not participated in the study before.