Get Involved

Two babies sat against the colourful wall in the BabyLab

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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 baby 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 baby 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 baby to participate.
  • Once everyone is comfortable we will move to a nearby room to start the study. Normally, your baby will sit on a baby chair or on your lap. You will be with your baby at all times. Most of our studies take about 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete.
  • 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 £5 towards your travel costs.

Research Ethics

All of our studies are approved by the ethics committees at Lancaster University. Information about your baby 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 baby!
  • You can also bring along siblings. We take great care to ensure all Safeguarding guidelines are met. As a consequence we will always ensure that two researchers will be present with your child while your baby is doing the study.

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 Lancaster University’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 Lancaster University 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

Register your child

Studies take place at the Lancaster University campus and typically involve a one-time visit lasting about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

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

Register for a study

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.

Communication

We investigate communication between an infant and their social partner. We study how infants learn that we are communicating with them using eye contact and calling their name, and how this helps them to learn information such as object labels, categories and symbols.

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.

Find us

The Infant and Child Development Lab can be found in the Whewell Building A Floor in Fylde College, on Lancaster University's campus.

Directions to Whewell Building

By car

Enter campus via Bigforth Drive, and take the first exit on the roundabout, towards Bowland College. Drive around the perimeter, and go straight over the roundabout on the other side of the Underpass. Drive past the garage and MOT centre, turn right onto George Fox Avenue, and then take another right onto Fylde Avenue. The Whewell Lab is immediately on your left.

Address for SatNavs

Whewell Building A, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YR

By public transport

Leave the Underpass, and head towards Costa Coffee. Turn right just after Costa Coffee, and follow the path down into Edward Robert's Court. Take the footpath past Furness Residences on your left and the Post Graduate Statistics Building on your right. At the end of this footpath, the Whewell Building will be immediately on your right.

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