Please see below for answers to your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If we have not answered one of your questions here or in our webpage, please feel free to contact us by e-mail at socialkidslab@umd.edu.
The families that we work with have all expressed interest in participating in psychology research studies through the
Child Studies Consortium at the University of Maryland. The Consortium has a short online form that families can use to provide their basic information, available here.
Once you fill out the form, a researcher will contact you.
You can find a photographic walk-through of a typical visit here, but we're also happy to provide you with a quick summary:
Everyone you will see and meet during your visit has some affiliation with the University. When you arrive, you may walk past or interact with students, university staff, and researchers from other labs. That said, those of us working with you and your child during your visit will be trained staff or student researchers. Everyone running or sitting in on the study will have some affiliation with the Lab for Early Social Cognition. A list of our lab members can be found here.
Our research lab consists of several testing rooms and a separate waiting room, all of which are located in the basement of the Biology-Psychology Building (BPS) here on the UMCP campus. Your visit will begin in our waiting area, where we will review the paperwork and protocols for the day’s study. To see our testing spaces and our waiting room, please visit this page.
Depending on your child’s age and the particular study, studies usually last about 20 to 30 minutes once they begin. Because we take time to explain everything to you before the study and answer your questions afterwards, a full visit (from meeting you to saying goodbye) usually lasts about 45 to 60 minutes.
Different studies that we run have different procedures. Where possible, we like to have the parent in the testing room during the study. For some studies, this does not work – either due to practical constraints or because it would influence the child’s response. In these cases, you will be able to watch your child’s participation in the study from our lab office via a live video stream.
No. Our studies are designed to tell us about typical developmental patterns, and so we draw our research conclusions from averages across large groups of children. Because there can be many reasons why an individual child performs the research task in a particular way—for instance, he or she could either be totally focused on the task or hungry, sleepy, or otherwise distracted—our measures are not able to evaluate a single child’s performance.
The studies in our lab are not designed to detect, diagnose, or treat any medical conditions. The University of Maryland does not provide any medical, hospitalization, or other insurance for participants in this research study.
There are no unusual risks involved in any of our studies. Your child’s study session will involve general experiences similar to those encountered during typical, day-to-day interactions with others and/or viewing a computer or television screen. Should you or your child find any part of the study distressing, or wish to discontinue your participation for any reason, you may ask to stop the study at any time.
We have weekday appointments available to fit your schedule, most of which we make during the 9:00 am - 5:30 pm time period. When possible, we also offer appointments on weekends typically between 9:00 am - 3:00 pm..
Absolutely! The more the merrier! If you do have other children you will be bringing along, we ask that you give us advanced notice so that we can have enough hands on deck. Since many of our studies require very controlled
conditions during testing, we will arrange to have a researcher look after your other children in the nearby waiting area while the study runs. We have a good selection of toys and books available, so they will be sure to have
a fun time!
We understand the busy lifestyle of parents and their families, so if you need to reschedule we will be happy to do so. We can reschedule appointments over the phone or via e-mail anytime during any of our open testing hours.
Sometimes, when a child is at the end of the appropriate age for a study, we may be unable to reschedule. Most often, however, we try to schedule children to come in right in the middle of our target age, which leaves some flexibility if a family does need to reschedule.
The Lab for Early Social Cognition investigates the basic cognitive and social processes that guide young children’s social understanding and behavior. Many of our studies examine how children reason about and respond to the mental states, social goals, relationships, and group memberships of other people. This work provides valuable insight into how and why adults think and act the way they do, while also teaching us about the unique experiences of children and how we can best ensure a bright and positive developmental path. You can learn more about our research by visiting our "Research Topics," "Study Methods," and "Publications" pages.
Simply put, your child’s participation means everything. We depend upon local families to bring their children in to participate in our studies, and we deeply appreciate the generous contribution of your time to our research. Thank you!
The art on our webpage was created by Anna Raff. You can see more of her illustrations on her website: http://www.annaraff.com/.