I see me, I see you: Recognizing emotions in others

For 4- to 5-year olds with and without autism

Half of this study takes place on a scheduled video call with a researcher! The other half of this study consists of surveys that will take about 20 to 45 minutes. Clicking on the “Schedule a time to participate” button will send you to an online form where you can confirm your eligibility and schedule a date and time that works for you! We will send you a link to a survey that has questions about you, your child, and their sensory experiences, developmental milestones, and other behaviors. During the 45-minute study session, your child will look at pictures of other children and answer some questions about these children's feelings. Your child will also watch video clips, from television shows and movies, like Moana, and later watch their reactions to these videos (e.g., child laughing or frowning).

Our study explores when and how preschoolers with and without autism recognize different kinds of emotions from other peoples' facial expressions! This study includes some real-world contexts, like distracting background sounds, to reflect how children recognize emotions in the real world!

Our study will also explore how children's emotion learning may change after viewing one’s own emotion expressions. For example, does a child seeing themself laugh help them recognize happy faces? Some studies have shown that older children and adults are better at identifying emotion expressions after watching themselves express similar emotions. This part of our study will help identify key tools for young children with emotion processing challenges.

About 90 minutes total: half for a survey you fill out before the video chat, and half for the video chat with you, your child, and a researcher.

As a token of our appreciation, you will receive a $25 Target.com or Amazon.com e-gift card within one week of participating in this study (only one child per household). To be eligible for compensation, we ask that you meet all the eligibility criteria, submit valid online consent and surveys, and that the family (both parent and child) attends the video chat.