Getting Involved: The First Steps

We are seeking to recruit infants and children to participate in research projects in the Cognitive Development Lab. If you have a baby between 14 and 16 months of age, we'd love to hear from you.

Our studies are meant to increase understanding of how the mind develops: How humans learn language, use tools, solve problems, and make sense of social environments We do not screen or evaluate individual children, although we are interested in the range of behaviors found in individual children of a given age.

Simply read the descriptions of ongoing or planned studies below. If your child fits the description and you would like more information, fill out our on-line form. When we begin recruiting, a lab researcher will contact you to provide more information.

Language Development; Language skills important to school readiness (Spring, 2012)

We are looking for children 12-15 months of age for a long-term study to understand how language learning during infancy affects readiness for school several years later. During each visit, your child will do age-appropriate games or activities that can assess their language abilities. If your child is learning two languages, we will assess their abilities in each language. By tracking language skills until they start preschool, we will learn about which language and communication skills are most important when starting school. This study is being carried out in San Diego (San Diego State University and UC-San Diego) and in Montreal, Canada and Geneva, Switzerland.

For more information, call (858) 822-2968 or email cogdevlab@cogsci.ucsd.edu.
Fill out our on-line form to be contacted by a researcher.

Learning links: What preschoolers "pick up" (Winter, 2006)

We are looking for 3- and 4-year-old children for a study of learning skills in preschoolers. We are testing the very common idea that children are very fast word-learners. In our study, children are taught new information: words, facts, or picture-symbols. We test how quickly they learn the information, then re-test them a week later to see how much they remember.

For more information, call (858) 822-2968 or email cogdevlab@cogsci.ucsd.edu.
Fill out our on-line form to be contacted by a researcher.

MacGuyvers in the making: Reasoning about object functions (Winter, 2006)

We are looking for 3- to 5-year-old children for a study of children's flexible thinking about object functions. Humans are unique in our ability to quickly see new ways to use existing objects and materials. Yet we know virtually nothing about how this ability emerges during children. In our study, children are asked to figure out different ways to use the same objects. We are looking at effects of age and of conditions that might make it easier or harder for children to figure out functions.

For more information, call (858) 822-2968 or email cogdevlab@cogsci.ucsd.edu.
Fill out our on-line form to be contacted by a researcher.

MESA Project: Looking for infants 3-12 months of age (Winter, 2006)

The MESA project is looking for infants and parents to assist in new tests of infants' social skills and learning abilities.
We might ask you to bring your baby to the lab for one or two 20-30 min. visits. We are also looking for parents who will let us come to your home 1-2 times to videotape you playing with your baby.

For more information, call (858) 822-1373 or email cogdevlab@cogsci.ucsd.edu.
Fill out our on-line form to be contacted by a researcher.

MESA Project: Looking for infants starting at 3 months of age (Winter, 2006 - Spring, 2007)

The MESA project is looking for infants and parents to participate in a longitudinal study of how infants' social skills develop, as their learning and cognitive abilities are also changing.

We will ask you to bring your baby to the lab each month to complete tests of several learning abilities. We will also come to your home once/month to videotape you playing with your baby. This study will provide groundbreaking, rich information about infants' social development.

For more information, call (858) 822-1373 or email cogdevlab@cogsci.ucsd.edu.
Fill out our on-line form to be contacted by a researcher.