Which Food Do They Like More?

4 to 9 year old children in United States

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 study, your child will watch six short animated stories featuring three characters. In each story, one character shares different foods with two other characters. Your child will learn which foods the character likes or dislikes and see how the foods are shared between the two recipients. For example, one character might receive more food than the other, but the person sharing the food may like some foods more than others. After each story, your child will answer simple questions about the characters' preferences, such as who they think the person sharing the food likes more and which food they would prefer themselves.

This study explores how children think about social relationships and learn about the preferences of others. Previous research has shown that children use how people share resources to understand social relationships. For example, children may think that someone likes a person more when they give that person more things. However, the number of items shared may not always tell the whole story, because people can have different preferences for the things they give.

In this study, we want to understand whether children consider not only how much food someone shares, but also whether that person likes or dislikes the food being shared. By showing children stories in which characters share different amounts of liked or disliked foods, we hope to learn how children use both quantity and personal preferences to decide who the person sharing the food likes more.

20 minutes

After the Zoom session, we will email you a $5 (USD) Amazon gift card (redeemable only at Amazon.com). To receive this compensation, the following criteria must be met: (1) your child is between the ages of 4 and 9 years old, (2) English is (one of) the child's first language(s), (3) your child is visible on the webcam in a valid consent video and during the study, and (4) the study is conducted in English as described. Each child is only allowed to participate once and receives only one gift card. If eligibility criteria are met, you will receive this compensation within a week of your participation.