Linking speech sounds to images

Participants must be United States of America natives and currently reside in the country. They must be between the ages of 9-12 months.

This study will take place on a video call with a live 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.
During this study, your baby will look at images of colorful shapes and listen to a speaker labeling these objects. Occasionally an image of a bus will appear, accompanied by the sound of horns. Your child will not need to do anything other than look at the computer screen.

Because this study involves language, to avoid complication, we're only looking for babies who were born in the US and live in households where American English is spoken.

Individuals tend to associate certain speech sounds with certain features. For example, to most people an invented word such as "teepteep" would sound smaller than "gowba". There is evidence that children learn words more successfully when the sounds in a word resemble their meaning. We are interested in finding out why these kinds of words have a learning benefit, and how early in development infants are able to perceive similarities between word and meaning.

10-15 minutes

$5 Amazon.com gift card. You will be sent an Amazon.com gift card by email within 1 week of participating in the study. To receive compensation, you must meet all of the following eligibility criteria: (1) You are located in the United States, (2) Your child falls within the age range indicated for this study, (3) Your child has not participated in this study before, (4) You provide valid consent.