Auditory Cognition and Development Lab
RESEARCH PROCEDURES
What will happen if I bring my child to participate in a study? How do you measure childrens responses?
In our lab we use a variety of techniques to measure responses to sound in infants and children. Parents are always present throughout all parts of the study. During the first visit we collect information about the child’s musical, hearing, and language experiences.
Infant Procedures
Our research with infants (from approximately 2-20 months) takes advantage of the fact that babies tend to pay more attention to things they find interesting or novel, as reflected
In these procedures babies learn that they can control how long they get to listen to a sound by looking at the display-- therefore, they tend to look longest at displays paired with sounds they find interesting or novel. In a typical study, we present the infant with a music pattern for a few minutes or until the infant becomes bored. We then introduce a new pattern to see whether or not the infant will notice that the sound has changed, as indicated by their increase in looking (i.e., their interest). Some of our studies present babies with an object (an Elmo, for example) that disappears and re-emerges somewhere else, depending on a sound that plays at the same time. We will see if your baby learns
to anticipate where the stimulus will emerge. The actual study usually takes no longer than 10 minutes. We record the session on video and looking time is later verified on a computer. To participate, click here.
Child Procedures
Studies designed for child participants (ages 2-12 years) are designed as fun and engaging computer games which ask the child to discriminate between sounds, detect mistakes or “wrong notes” in patterns, or recognize and identify familiar songs or words. Children give their responses verbally, by clicking a button on a computer, or by adjusting the location of a game piece on a board. Studies with children typically take 15-30 minutes. To participate, click here.
Adult Studies
Studies with adult participants consist of one or more tasks performed on a computer. These tasks can include labeling a sound (for example as speech or music or as rhythmic vs. nonrhythmic, etc.), discriminating two patterns (same or different), detecting a mistake or disruption in an ongoing pattern, or tapping out a beat in time to a music excerpt. Studies typically take 30-60 minutes and participants are compensated through course credit or pay. Adult participants provide background information by answering questions about their musical, hearing, and language experiences. To participate for credit, click here.
We conduct short studies with participants ranging from 2 months of age to 12 years of age to adulthood. We depend on the generosity of families in the community to voluntarily participate in our research studies. Participating in studies can be a fun opportunity to learn about your child and contribute to general scientific knowledge about child development, not to mention all the fun goodies you get to take home (a baby degree, t-shirt, toy and/or gift card, custom photo souvenir to share with your family and friends)! So don’t be a stranger-- come visit us!
If you live in the Las Vegas or Henderson area and are interested in bringing your child to participate in one of our studies please send us your information by clicking here or calling us at 702-895-2995. We will discuss your participation and invite you to come in when we have a study in the age range of your child. Once you are scheduled for a study, you can get directions here.
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in their looking behavior. In most procedures, infants sit on a caregiver’s lap and they see a visual display (such as a checkerboard or cartoon) paired with music or speech. We ask the caregiver to wear headphones playing music or other sounds so that they cannot influence the baby’s response.
Are you looking for our sister lab, the Child and Baby Rebel Lab?
