We are a group of developmental labs in the Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences Department at Brown University who study how children learn and think about the world around us.

Below we have provided a brief description of each of the research studies we are currently recruiting children to participate in.

Click on the link in the study description if you would like to learn more or sign your child(ren) up for the study!

Studies for 4-Year-Olds

People’s Sticker Choices

This game is for… children 2, 3, and 4 years of age who speak English at home!

Location: Online

Duration: ~30 minutes

Description: In everyday life, we say things like “if the weather’s nice tomorrow, we’ll go hiking.” We use “if” to talk about things that may happen and how we may react to them. Do children think about and act upon those possibilities in the same way as adults?
We have created an online game to explore this question. In this game, children will decide who said a specific sentence. For example, “If I get a blue sticker, I’m gonna put it on myself.”

Learn More/ Sign Up: http://calendly.com/blt-lab/stickers

Which One is it?

This game is for... For children ages 3-5 years who speak English at home!

Location: Online

Duration: ~30 minutes

Description:

As adults when we hear a sentence like “can you give me that apple?”, we do not only understand that we should give an apple, but also that the requester has a particular apple in mind. On the other hand, when we use a sentence like “can you give me an apple?”, it feels like any apple would do. Are children sensitive to this difference?

We have created an online game where children can help cartoon characters by giving them the objects the characters ask for. In some cases the characters have a particular object in mind (for instance when they are asking for “that apple”), and sometimes any object would do (when they are asking “an apple”).

Learn More/ Sign Up: https://calendly.com/blt-lab/triota

Animal Study

This game is for... children ages 3, 4, and 5 years who can speak and understand English

Location: In-Person at Our Lab

Duration: ~30 minutes

Description: This study looks at how young children learn about categories of animals. Your child will play a sorting game with a set of animal cards. At the end, your child will get a small toy as a ‘thank you’ for playing our game.

Learn More/ Sign Up: https://calendly.com/cocodev-lab/animals