Who is the boss?

For 4- to 9-year-olds

This study will take place on a video call, live with a researcher! Clicking on the “Schedule a time to participate” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works for you. During the testing session, your child will watch a series of videos about two people. Questions may be asked about the interactions (i.e. sequence of standing up from a chair or choosing a toy) and preferences (i.e. type of stuffed animal) of the characters.

Previous research has shown that both infants and children are aware of social hierarchies based on various cues including physical size, posture, group size, and resource acquisition. Typically, when children see agents who stand taller, are bigger, or are able to collect more items for themselves, they consider that agent to be dominant. However, there is still a gap in the research in regard to children's ability to understand the non-dominant agent. This study explores if children aged 4 to 9 can pick up on social dominance cues and use those to infer a third-party character's preferences. This research contributes to our efforts to understand children's cognitive development, including their development and knowledge of the social world.

30 minutes

We will send a $5.00 Amazon Gift card (redeemable only at Amazon.com) over email within a week after the session and criteria are complete. To receive this compensation, the following criteria must be met: (1) Your child is between the ages of 4 to 9 years old, (2) English is (one of) the child's first language(s), and (3) Your child is visible on the webcam in a valid consent video and during the study. Each child is only allowed to participate once and receives only one gift card.