Visiting The Lab

To explore our research questions, mother, father and infant or child will be asked to visit our lab and to interact and to play together in our playroom just as you would at home. We are interested in studying the kinds of games, activities and ordinary conversational interactions that families engage in at home every day. 

Specifically, your participation in a study will involve one visit to the lab in Trinity College lasting no longer than 3 hours, during which you will be with your baby or child at all times.  Mother and father will be asked to provide some information about yourselves and your family and to complete some questionnaires, for instance, on your stress levels, your parenting styles and beliefs, and your child’s temperament or personality.  In addition a researcher will administer short age-appropriate cognitive and language ability tests to your infant or child. Then we wish to simply observe you and your child interacting and playing as normal for a short period. This will be recorded and stored for analysis later.  You may also be invited to return for a short follow-up visit in six months. 

To download our information leaflet, please click here.