Words in Space

For 6- to 8-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 form where you can put a date and time that works for you. Before the session, you’ll complete a consent form, a language background questionnaire, and a vocabulary checklist. During the session, your child will view brief 3D videos showing how objects are arranged in space. After watching, your child will be asked to decide which of the two follow-up videos is most similar.

We’re studying how children think about space—specifically how they group events like putting an object on something or in something. For example, does a child think placing a toy in a box is more similar to putting a spoon in a cup or to putting a book on a shelf? We want to find out whether the language children speak affects how they make these kinds of decisions. This particular study focuses on children who are learning English only and are not regularly exposed to a second language. Past research shows that different languages highlight different types of spatial relationships, and this can affect how children categorize what they see. By focusing on English-speaking children, we hope to better understand how learning one language shapes the way kids understand and group spatial events.

15 minutes

We will provide a $5 USD Visa gift card for eligible participants. We will send you the gift card within 1 week of your first eligibility.