Current Studies
Exploration
In this cross-cultural project, we investigate how various learning strategies influence young children’s decision to engage in strategic exploration of their environment. Particularly, we are interested in whether encouraging children to view problems in new ways promotes more strategic exploration in an online search task. In addition, we explore how individual difference (e.g., parenting styles, general cognitive abilities, age) impact children’s search behavior. We collected data from children aged between 3.5 and 6.5 years old in both the U.S. and Turkey. We are now processing and analyzing data.
Sevgili Veliler,
Bu projemiz için yeni bir anket verisi daha topluyoruz. Eğer 18 yaş veya üzeri iseniz ve 3 ya da 6 yaş arasında çocuğunuz var ise, sizi “Günlük Öğrenme” isimli çevrimiçi anket çalışmamıza davet ediyoruz. Çalışmamız 10-15 dakika sürmektedir. Detaylı bilgiyi bu linkte bulabilirsiniz: bit.ly/emlcccturnew
Social Evaluation in Babies
In this project, we are looking at how babies make moral inferences and differentiate between right and wrong behavior. We are also interested in the sources of individual differences in moral inferences such as why some babies are more attuned to characters behaving in a nice way. To answer these questions, we collect data from infants between the ages of 5.5 and 10.5 months and their parents. We give a participation certificate to our babies.
Prosocial Values and Behaviors in Children
In this project, we examine children’s prosocial behaviors in the first three years of life. Prosocial behaviors include sharing, helping, comforting, and cooperating. These behaviors develop over time, but each child has a unique developmental trend. So, we also investigate how parenting behaviors are associated with differences in prosocial behaviors.
Synchrony and Active Learning
In this longitudinal project, we examine how babies develop a synchronous relationship with their mothers over time. Synchronous interaction refers to (roughly) “being on the same page at the same time,” where the page can be affective and/or behavioral in our study. In addition, we investigate the association between this synchronous interaction and babies’ engagement with their environments and ways of getting more information from adults around them in later years. We collected data from babies and their mothers when the babies were 8, 10, 12, 14, and 18 months (about 1 and a half years) old. We are now processing and analyzing data.
If you are interested in joining our lab as a research assistant, please apply through this link.