Thinking about Thinking

For 5 to 6 years old

In this study, your child will watch stories and videos about some characters named Teebus. Two identical-looking Teebus will be asked to move to a specific toy and learn its name. We will then ask your child some questions about whether they saw the same Teebu twice or two different Teebus.

What we know and believe is constantly changing, and we have expectations about how others’ knowledge changes. Imagine you discovered that your friend just started learning a new language yesterday and then saw them speaking it fluently the next day. It would seem unlikely that your friend could learn to speak a new language in a day. You might even suspect that they had been lying to you about what they know, because it is uncommon to acquire extensive language knowledge so rapidly. In the study, children will watch videos about Teebus acquiring new information, and their answers about the identity of the Teebu will help us understand how children think about knowledge changing. The findings will help us understand how different amounts of information can affect how quickly and how well children expect others to learn it.

10 minutes

You will receive a $5 Amazon gift card (Amazon.com) as a token of appreciation for participating in this study. You should receive the gift card to the email provided within 1 week of your participation. To be eligible for the gift card your child must be in the age range for this game, you need to submit a valid consent statement and your child needs to be visible during the game. You can only receive compensation for participating once per child; if your child participates again you will not be compensated. We will send a gift card even if you do not finish the whole game or we are not able to use your child's data.