Tell me what you are imagining!

For 4-12 year olds.

In this study, your child will play games about picturing things in their mind. In the first game, your child will be asked to press a key when they think the cup is full. In the second game, your child will see colored stickers on a character named Mr. Peanut, remember the stickers for a short time, and answer questions about the stickers. In the third game, your child will be asked to imagine a scene and answer some questions about it.

We are interested in learning about the mental skills that form part of children’s imagination. In the first game, your child will be asked to indicate when they think an opaque cup is full. This helps us learn about how children simulate the trajectory of objects (e.g., water) in their mind to make predictions. In the second game, your child will see colored stickers in specific spots and will be asked to remember both its color and location after a short delay. This helps us learn how accurately children can remember visual information. In the third game, your child will answer questions about what elements are part of their mental images when imagining scenes. This helps us learn about the level of specificity in children’s mental images. By studying how these imagination abilities develop and interact in early childhood, we hope to better understand how to support them.

20 minutes

$5 USD Amazon.com gift card (usable on the U.S. website only). You will be emailed your gift card within 7 business days of participating in the study. To receive compensation, you must 1) provide a valid consent video; 2) your child must be in the age range specified above; and 3) your child must be present during the recorded videos. Your child may only complete this study once for compensation.