Participate in our online studies!

We have ongoing studies conducted over Zoom! You can view the studies and what age ranges we are looking for below. If you are interested in a study that your child is the right age for you can sign up by clicking the link and selecting an appointment that works for you. You can sign up for as many studies as your child is eligible for!

Check how old your baby is in months using the age calculator below.

Ages: 4 and 5 month olds

Sights & Sounds Study


How are babies learning to connect their different senses? Do they already use what they see to predict what they will hear? In this 20 minute study over Zoom, your baby will watch a ball bouncing around in a box and also hear sounds that do or do not line up with the ball’s motion. We will use gaze tracking to ask: are babies surprised when sights and sounds don’t line up?
*This study requires a laptop or desktop computer*

 

Ages: 8 and 9 month olds

What do babies think about imitation?


Parents and other caregivers often copy the sounds and expressions babies make. What do babies think about people who mirror their social partners in this way? In a 15-minute study over Zoom, we are asking if babies think people who imitate are more helpful than those who don't. Your baby will watch one character imitate a partner and another character not imitate. We will then use gaze tracking to ask: Do babies expect the imitating character to be more helpful than the character who does not imitate?
*This study requires a laptop or desktop computer*

 

Ages: 9 to 12 month olds

How do infants use gestures to learn in social and nonsocial settings?


In this 15-minute study over Zoom, your baby will see a series of fun, colorful toys. An actor will also be on screen. Sometimes the actor will point to the toy, suggesting they are "sharing attention" to the toy with your baby. Other times, the actor will just place their hand on the table. We will use gaze tracking to measure how well babies learn to recognize the toys. This study will help us understand how gestures can support babies' learning.
*This study requires a laptop or desktop computer* 

Ages: 9 to 12 month olds

How do infants with siblings with autism learn in social and nonsocial settings?


In this 15-minute study over Zoom, your baby will see a series of fun, colorful toys. An actor will also be on screen. Sometimes the actor will look at the camera and then back at the toy, suggesting they are "sharing attention" to the toy with your baby. Other times, the actor will just look at the toys. We will use gaze tracking to measure how well babies learn to recognize the toys. This study will help us understand how caregivers can support or distract from babies' learning.
*This study requires that your infant has an older sibling with an autism diagnosis (proof will be requested) and you will need a laptop or desktop computer* 

Ages: 10 and 11 month olds

Do infants connect helping and empathy? 


Friends and family members help one another, and they also feel empathy for one another. This study asks if infants expect these positive social behaviors to go together. In a 15-minute study over Zoom, your baby will watch first watch one character respond happily or sadly to another character's success. Then, one of the characters will have a chance to help the other. We will use gaze tracking to ask: Do babies expect someone who empathizes to also be helpful?

*This study requires a laptop or desktop computer*

Ages: 12 and 13 month olds

Do infants prefer to learn from empathizers? 


In a 15-minute study over Zoom, your baby will watch characters respond happily or sadly to another character's success. Each of the characters will label an object with a new word. We will use gaze tracking to ask: Do babies prefer to learn the name of an object when it is taught to them by a character who expressed empathy instead of sadness?

*This study requires a laptop or desktop computer*

Ages:  14 and 15 month olds

Do infants learn who is and isn't helpful? 


In this study, your baby will participate in two 15-minute sessions over Zoom on different days. In each session, your infant will first watch a video with three characters. One character will struggle to climb up a hill. One of the others will help the climber, while the other will "hinder" the climber by blocking the climber's path to the top. In each session we will then use gaze tracking to investigate how your baby expects the helper to act in other situations. This study will help us understand how babies learn who is likely to help.

*This study requires a laptop or desktop computer*

Sign Up for Future Studies!

Ages: 3 months to 8 years


Our lab is always looking for baby and child scientists to participate in our studies! If your child is not currently the right age for our present studies, you can sign up to be contacted when we have a study for them. 

No appointment times work? If there are no open appointment slots that work for you please email us at socallab@ucsd.edu and we can find a time and day that works for you! 

Child not in our age ranges? If you and your child are interested in participating in our studies, but we do not have any studies available for your child's age, please fill out this form. We will contact you when we have a new study for them!

Is now not a good time, but you want us to contact you later? Provide your name and email below and we'll send you an email in a month to give you more information about our ongoing studies.