Stanford Developmental Labs


List of Current Studies


These studies are conducted by Stanford Developmental Labs:
Social Learning Lab, Language & Cognition Lab,
The Markman Lab, & The Social Concepts Lab .

To participate, click HERE to sign up for an appointment.


Test

Why did you say that?

Social Learning Lab


Ages: 4 - 5



When teachers or parents say things like “that tracing is great!”, what do children actually think that means? In this study, we are asking how children respond to feedback depending on who it is coming from. For instance, do they understand that some people may always give praise no matter the quality of the work and that others may be a bit stingier?

In this short activity, children will watch videos of teachers providing praise to a student. Then, they will give advice to other students about which teacher to show their work to!

We are excited to see what decisions children make in this activity! We hope this work sheds light on how children understand the praise that they receive from others and whose feedback they seek out.


Test

Mr. Bear's Candy

Language & Cognition Lab


Ages: 4 - 5



In this activity, children will meet a cartoon bear, Mr. Bear, and his friends in the forest. They will hear a story and answer questions about what they think Mr. Bear will say. The goal of this research activity is to learn about the predictions children make about what speakers will say and what will affect these predictions.


Test

What's that sound?

Social Learning Lab


Ages: 4, 6-8



How do children combine different sources of information to understand what happened in the past? In this study, we will show children some animations of Elmo playing with a “Plinko Machine”. Children will see some animations and hear different sounds made in the box. We invite children to be little detectives and figure out what happened in the machine from what they see and hear!


Test

Help Maggie Learn English!

Language & Cognition Lab


Ages: 7 - 9



Help my friend Maggie learn to speak English! My friend Maggie is learning to speak English and she needs your help. In this activity, you will listen to Maggie say various things in English. And to help her learn English, you will decide whether what she says is right or wrong.