Which activity do you want to try?

English speaking 6- to 11-year-olds, must not have already participated in study "How Did She Solve It?"

Your child will watch two videos of an animated character trying different activities on a computer. For some children, we will describe these as “games,” but for other children, we will describe these as “tests.”  We will ask your child what they think about these activities, including how difficult the activities are and which activity they would like to try. Then, your child will try a short puzzle where they move balls to match a picture. Finally, we will play the videos again and ask your child if they think the character had an Aha! experience while trying each activity.

We are interested in understanding what drives children’s exploration: the actions they take to learn more about the world around them. Children have a lot to learn about the world, and they often do so by actively exploring to figure things out. In this study, we are interested in how children of different ages explore different kinds of activities in different contexts. We are particularly interested in whether children are interested in trying activities that involve a feeling of insight (an “Aha!" Moment) and whether this preference depends on whether the activity is framed as a “game” or a “test.” This study will contribute to our broader understanding of how children decide which activities to try.

15 minutes

After you participate, we'll send you a $5 (USD) Amazon gift card within approximately one week. Only one gift card per child. To be eligible for the gift card, you need to submit a valid consent statement, we need to see that your child is with you, your child must be eligible for the study, and you and your child must be English speakers. But 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.