Who Shares?

This study is for children ages 4 to 8 years old who are based in the U.S.

In this scheduled video chat with a researcher via Zoom, your child will hear stories about animated characters who interact together. We will ask your child questions about who one friend will decide to share with based on whether one friend is similar or different to the other characters in the story! 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 study, we want to understand how children make predictions about who will share based on social information. Your child will first hear stories in which three friends will either share food or toys. We will ask your child questions about who one friend will decide to share with based on whether one friend is similar or different to the other characters in the story! Previous studies suggest that children use cues of similarity to understand relationships between people. In the present study, we want to know if children will think a character will share with another character because they are more similar.

15-20 minutes

You will receive a $5 online gift card and a certificate of participation, within a week 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 (e.g., Target, gift cards in other currencies if desired, etc.). 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.