Attention to Faces
This set of studies examines the role of prior learning and experience in the development of attention orienting biases to faces from infancy to adulthood.
Attention to Caregivers in Infancy
Ages: 4 months; 6 months; 8 months
3 Visits, 60-90 minutes
This study looks at how and why infants’ attention to their caregiver changes over the first year of life. Families who participate are asked to visit our lab three times, when infants are 4 months, 6 months, and 8 months old. During the visits, infants and their caregivers do several activities together:
- Caregivers complete a series of questionnaires that ask about topics including family sociodemographic information, typical behavior, the makeup of your child’s social network, events that you may have experienced in the past, and how you have been feeling in the past couple of weeks.
- Infants view a couple of short movies in which shapes, objects or faces appear on the screen. We will use a non-invasive eye tracker to record where your child looks as they view the display.
- Next, infants play with several standard infant toys while we record where they are looking.
- Infants and caregivers play together while we use a non-invasive EKG device to measure infants’ heart rate.
Race-Based Attention Orienting Biases in Infancy
Ages: 5-6 months; 10-11 months
1 Visit, 1 Hour
In this study infants will view an array containing multiple images appearing on a computer screen. Each array will contain both faces and non-face objects. We will use a non-invasive eye tracker to record where your child looks as they view the display.
Attention Orienting to Stimuli in Adults
Ages: 18-35 years
1 Visit, 30 minutes
In this study, adults will play a game where they search for a butterfly while other stimuli appear on the screen. We will also ask you questions about yourself.
fNIRS Study of Attention Orienting in Adults
Ages: 18-35 years
1 Visit, 1.5 Hours
In this study, adults will complete a computer task containing images appearing on a computer screen. We will use a non-invasive imaging technique, fNIRS, to record brain activity.
