Do kids work harder with someone who agrees with their caregiver?

6 to 7 year-olds who are based in the U.S

This study takes place on a live video call with a researcher. Clicking the "Participate Now!" button will take you to an online calendar, please select TWO dates and times that work for you within 7 days. Before the study, we'll ask you to send in a photo of yourself, which we'll use one of the study sessions. These two sessions have the same format, but one of them includes you as the child's caregiver and the other includes an unfamiliar adult (another caregiver or researcher. During the Zoom call, your child will see an adult (you or another unfamiliar adult) alongside two animated characters interacting with each other (for example, naming a toy). Your child will then play two short puzzles or games.

When children start school, they need to decide what to trust from what their teachers say. As they learn, they pay attention to how teachers speak and look for connections to what they hear at home. This study explores how these processes work and how children use this knowledge to make decisions. We have this study split across two sessions to examine whether children just use "majority rules" to determine who to trust information from or if they look specifically for connections to a caregiver.

30 minutes total (10-15 minutes per session; two sessions)

Children receive TWO $5 online gift cards ($10 total) and if requested, an optional certificate of participation. To receive the gift card and certificate, the child must be within our age range. Each child can only receive $10 total for both parts. If your child only wishes to complete one part, they will still receive a $5 gift card. We can send Amazon U.S. or Tremendous gift cards, and families can request an alternate gift card if they'd prefer one—we'll ask what works best for your family and coordinate with our lab manager to make it happen. You will receive compensation within two weeks of the study.