Children's Responses to Effective Communication

For 4- to 9- years old

This study will take place on a video call, live with a researcher! Clicking on the “Participate Now!” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works for you. In this Zoom-based study, your child will see short, kid-friendly images featuring characters working together on simple tasks. After watching these interactions, your child will answer a few questions about the characters. This study aims to explore young children’s thinking about individuals who use novel words without first defining them. Specifically, we will ask children about whether two people might have prior relationships.

Sometimes, people who have expertise in a topic may assume that others share their knowledge, even when others may be less informed. This is called the "curse of knowledge." In the current study, we will examine how children make sense of characters who either do or do not engage in the curse of knowledge.

30 minutes

Children will receive a $5 online gift card and (if requested) a certificate of participation, within 24 hours of participating over Zoom. To receive the gift card and certificate, the child must be within the age range for our study. Each child will only receive one gift card. We can compensate participants with an Amazon US gift card, or with an alternative online gift card. We'll ask you about what gift cards work for your family, and we'll work with our lab manager to get you a suitable gift card.