Get Involved

Two babies sat against the colourful wall in the BabyLab

Take part in our studies

Studies take place at the 抖阴APP导航 campus and typically involve a one-time visit lasting about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Some projects, particularly those involving older children, may run a bit longer or require more than one visit, but they are always planned to be engaging and include regular breaks to keep children comfortable. Please sign up for our studies using the form below.

You can also use this form to update or remove your current details should you no longer wish to be kept on our database.

Information for parents

What to expect with a typical visit to the Infant and Child Development Lab

  • If you have registered with us and your child is the right age for one of our studies, we will give you a call or email you.
  • We will describe our study, and if you are happy to take part in it, we will arrange a convenient time for your visit and will sent you directions and more information via email.
  • Typically, we’ll contact you the day before your scheduled appointment to confirm the visit, answer any questions that you may have and to make sure that you have received the directions.
  • When you and your child arrive at the Infant and Child Development Lab, a friendly researcher will welcome you to our playroom. You can take a moment to orient yourself and get comfortable with coffee or tea, and toys for your child.
  • We will explain the study to you again and will answer any questions you might have.
  • We will also give you a consent form to sign, saying that you are happy for your child to participate.
  • Once everyone is comfortable, we will move to a nearby room to begin the study. Younger children can sit either in a baby chair or on your lap, while older children will sit on a chair with you close by. You will remain with your child at all times. Most of our studies take between 30 minutes and 1 hour to complete. Some studies may take a little longer or involve multiple visits, but they are always designed to be fun, with plenty of breaks included.
  • After the study we will answer any questions you might have. As a token of our appreciation, your child will receive a small gift (book or t-shirt) and a gift voucher in the amount of £5 (Please note some studies may offer additional reimbursement based on study-specific funding).

Research Ethics

All of our studies are approved by the ethics committees at 抖阴APP导航. Information about your child is confidential and all data is kept anonymous. Personal details will be kept securely and only for the purpose stated. You can ask for your details to be removed from our database at any time.

Adults and children may be tested in the same area.

  • We hope you will enjoy your visit in our Infant and Child Development Lab! It’s certainly an informative day out with your child!
  • You can also bring along siblings. We take great care to ensure all Safeguarding guidelines are met. This means that two researchers will always be present with your child during the study or while supervising siblings in the play area.

What will happen to my information once I register?

We at the Lancaster Psychology Department collect and store your information so we can contact you to ask if you and your child want to be part of research projects. We will secure your information in line with 抖阴APP导航’s information security policies and procedures. Your data will be retained for 10 years unless you wish to be removed from the database. Your details will only be available to appropriate members of staff at 抖阴APP导航 and affiliates (e.g. visiting researchers) all of whom have undergone appropriate information security training and have completed a DBS check at Lancaster. For further information, you can contact the University data protection officer at information-governance@lancaster.ac.uk

Some examples of our studies

Some examples of our studies

We conduct a wide variety of different studies in the Infant and Child Development Lab - here are a few you might be able to get involved with.

Babies' action understanding

A big part of using tools correctly is holding them properly. Do babies learn how to hold everyday tools like cups by watching adults? We show them pictures of people reaching for and holding cups in normal and strange ways. The pattern of babies’ brain waves can tell us if the baby predicted that the person would hold the cup normally.

Babies' concept of objects

We present infants with real moving objects that disappear behind a stationary object in its path. Infants are then presented with possible and impossible events when the stationary object is removed. We are interested in whether infants understand that a moving object still exists when it disappears behind other objects.

Category formation and word learning

Infants’ category formation underpins language learning. We are interested in how infants group objects together into different categories such as cats and dogs using sounds and visual characteristics. We also look at how children begin to learn words for these categories using pointing games and eye-tracking studies.

Understanding speech in the classroom

A big part of learning in school is being able to listen and understand speech clearly. We study how children aged around 6-11 years hear and process spoken language, including how they cope with background noise. Children take part in a series of fun listening, language, and memory games while we use child-friendly brain recording techniques to understand how they process speech. As part of the visit, we also carry out a simple hearing check, such as looking inside the ears, measuring how the eardrum moves, and assessing overall hearing ability.

Emotional development

Soon after birth, babies can read emotions based on the face, body posture, and tone of voice. To understand how these abilities develop, we present infants with pictures or videos of adults and children expressing different emotions and record the babies’ brain responses and their eye-gaze.

Understanding of symbols

Pictures are a rich source of information that humans use to communicate with each other. When do children understand that pictures are symbolic and refer to something in the real world? How does this interact with language? We investigate these questions in toddlers and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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