Find the Caregiver!

Children ages 3 years and 6 months old through 7 years and 6 months old

Your child will hear five stories in which someone needs comfort, food, or help, and two characters could respond. After selecting who is more likely to help, your child will answer questions about the characters, including who is in charge and how much one character loves another. The study uses 20 possible stories; each child sees five. For example, a father may drop a heavy box, and your child selects whether his child or wife is more likely to help.

Children notice social roles and relationships and use them to make predictions about what people will do. Prior research suggests that children expect caregivers to be loving, but less is known about how they connect caregiving with authority. This study asks whether children expect helping, comforting, and sharing food to come from the person who is more in charge, the person who is more loving, or both. By comparing children's helper choices with their ratings of authority and affection, we can learn how they connect caregiving with these relationships.

15 minutes

You will receive a $5 Amazon.com gift card after participating. Families will still receive compensation if they stop early. To be eligible, your child must be within the study age range and visible in the study video, including any portion recorded before stopping. Each child can receive one gift card. The gift card will be sent through Children Helping Science messaging within 2 weeks.