Visit  the  Social  Kids  Lab  in  the    Madison  Children’s  Museum!  

 

Last  year  our  lab  started  a  partnership  with  the  Madison  Children’s  Museum  (MCM).  

Researchers  from  our  lab  are  at  the  MCM  four  days  a  week  to  conduct  some  of  our  shorter  

studies  with  children  who  visit  during  the  day.  If  you  see  researchers  in  the  “Cozy  Cottage”  at  the  MCM,  it’s  probably  us—please  feel  free  to  

come  and  say  “hi”!    

In  addition  to  our  researchers  at  the  MCM,  one  of  our  former  undergraduate  lab  

members,  Leah  Dornbusch,  is  now  the  Museum  Intern!  Leah  is  stationed  next  to  the  Cozy  Cottage  and  is  working  with  “research  

toys”,  such  as  the  ramp  in  this  photo.  The  purpose  of  the  research  toys  at  the  MCM  is  to  teach  parents  and  other  community  members  

about  research  in  child  development.  If  you  see  Leah  in  the  museum,  be  sure  to  ask  her  for  

more  information  about  what  she’s  up  to.  

Hello  and  Thank  You  from  the  Social  Kids  Lab!    

Dear  Parents,  Friends,  and  Teachers,    

We’ve  been  busy  since  our  last  newsletter!  Thank  you  for  all  of  your  help  and  support!  Without  families  and  schools  like  yours,  we  would  not  be  able  to  conduct  our  research.    

This  newsletter  summarizes  findings  from  studies  we  conducted  over  the  past  year  and  previews  some  ideas  for  future  research  in  our  lab.  If  you  have  any  questions  as  you  read,  please  feel  free  to  contact  us  for  more  information!  

Best  wishes,  

Kristin  Shutts,  Director  of  the  Social  Kids  Lab  &  Assistant  Professor  of  Psychology  Ashley  Jordan,  Lab  Manager  of  the  Social  Kids  Lab    

Congratulations  to  our  student  lab  members  on  their  accomplishments!    

Maggie  Renno  received  a  Graduate  Research  Fellowship  from  the  National  Science  Foundation  to  support  her  salary  and  research  for  the  next  3  years.  

Marissa  Johnson  (our  lab  manager  from  2011-­‐2013)  was  accepted  to  the  Counseling  Psychology  program  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina—Charlotte.  

Maddie  Spencer  received  an  Outstanding  Undergraduate  Research  Scholar  Award  from  the  UW  Psychology  Department  

Gabi  Fihn  was  accepted  to  a  study  abroad  program  in  Galway,  Ireland  for  the  spring  of  2014.    

Rachel  King  received  the  Thomas  W.  Parker  Scholarship  for  high-­‐achieving  juniors  and  seniors.  

Congratulations  and  best  wishes  to  our  December  2013  graduates:  Katerina  Novakova  and  Erica  Ross!    

 

 Meet  the  Newest  Member  of  the  Social  Kids  Lab!    Karissa  Propson,  Associate  Research  Specialist  

I  am  working  with  one  of  our  graduate  students,  Maggie  Renno,  on  her  projects  for  preschool-­‐age  children,  including  studies  investigating  young  children's  sharing  behaviors  and  social  preferences.  As  an  undergraduate,  I  majored  in  Human  Development  &  Family  Studies  and  Psychology  at  UW-­‐Madison.  I  also  worked  in  a  laboratory  at  the  Waisman  Center  that  studies  marital  quality  in  parents  of  children  with  Autism  Spectrum  Disorders.      

   

Children’s  Choices  and  Actions  in  the  Food  Domain  (Lead  Researcher:    Ashley  Jordan)  Children  learn  a  great  deal  about  eating  by  watching  the  choices  and  actions  of  others.  Over  the  past  year,  we  have  been  piloting  studies  designed  to  ask  if  children  consider  social  category  information  when  deciding  whether  and  how  to  eat  different  foods.  

In  our  studies  assessing  food  choices,  3-­‐  to  6-­‐year-­‐old  children  viewed  two  short  video  clips.  Each  clip  showed  a  different  adult  eating   and   talking   about   a   different   food.   The   adults   in   the   videos   differed   by   gender,   race,   or   accent.   After   the   videos,   the  experimenter  presented  the  child  with  actual  copies  of  the  two  foods  (organic  fruit  purée).  Children  were  then  asked  to  choose  which  one  they  would  like  to  try.  To  our  surprise,  children  were  just  as  likely  to  choose  foods  endorsed  by  adults  who  matched  their   own   gender,   race,   or   accent   vs.   those   who   differed   from   them   on   these   dimensions.   One   possibility   is   that   children  disregard  social  category   information  when  they  encounter   two  friendly  adults  who   like  different   foods.  We  think   it  would  be  interesting  to  repeat  the  study  with  child  actors  in  the  videos  rather  than  adults.  

In  other  studies  assessing  children’s  tendency  to  copy  other  people’s  actions,  children  also  viewed  videos  of  two  different  adults.    The  adults  were  both  women  speaking  in  English,  but  they  differed  in  the  accent  with  which  they  spoke  (American  or  French).  Each  woman  demonstrated  a  different  action  on  a   food  (for  example,   tapping  a  spoon  on  the  side  of  a  cup  versus  scraping   it  along   the   side  of   the   cup).  Preliminary   results   show   that   children   tend   to   imitate   the  native-­‐accented   speaker.   These   findings  support   the   idea   that  when   faced  with  unknown   information,   children  copy   the  actions  of  cultural   in-­‐group  members.  We  are  currently  designing  new  research  to  extend  these  findings.  

 

Infants’  Food  Choices  (Lead  Researchers:    Marissa  Johnson,  Mitch  Markham,  Ashley  Jordan)  

In  addition  to  our  studies  focused  on  older  children,  we  are  also  interested  in  knowing  whether  social  categories  influence  infants’  food  preferences.    In   one   study,   infants   see   clips   of   two   kinds   of   videos:   One   video   features   a  woman  who  talks  to  the  infant  in  English  and  eats  one  kind  of  food,  while  the  other   video   features   a  woman  who   talks   to   the   infant   in   French   and   eats   a  different  food.  During  the  “test  trial”,  infants  are  encouraged  to  reach  out  and  choose  between  real  copies  of  the  two  foods.  Our  findings  show  that  infants  tend  to  choose  the  food  that   is  associated  with  the  person  who  speaks  their  native   language,   perhaps   because   this   person   seems   most   familiar   or  trustworthy.  

In   addition   to   the   study   described   in   the   previous   paragraph,   we   are   also  conducting   research   designed   to   ask  whether   social   categories   (like   gender  and   race)   guide   infants’   toy   choices.   Look   for   future   findings   on   our   infant  studies  in  our  next  newsletter!  

 

Getting  Noticed  (Lead  Researcher:    Ashley  Jordan)  Previous  research  shows  that  very  early  in  development,  children  do  not  pay  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  other  people’s  race  (for  example,  whether  someone  is  White  or  African-­‐American).  However,  older  children  do  eventually  notice  race  and  begin  to  use  it  to  guide  their  social  preferences  and  thoughts  about  other  people.  In  new  lines  of  research,  we  are  interested  in  understanding  why  and  how  a  property  that  isn’t  noticed  at  first  (for  example,  race)  becomes  meaningful  to  children.    

To  answer  this  question,  we  have  been  using  computer  programs  to  make  pictures  of  people  who  differ  in  appearance  (for  example,  some  people  wear  blue  shirts  and  some  people  wear  orange  shirts).  Piloting  has  shown  that  children  initially  don’t  make  much  of  these  differences  in  clothing.  Thus,  we  now  are  using  these  pictures  to  ask  what  might  turn  clothing  color  into  a  meaningful  distinction  for  children  (as  a  way  to  ask  how  any  property  might  become  meaningful).  We  are  trying  several  different  procedures  –  including  showing  that  clothing  color  is  correlated  with  patterns  of  cooperation  (for  example,  people  in  blue  shirts  work  together  and  people  in  orange  shirts  work  together).  We  look  forward  to  updating  you  on  this  study  in  the  next  newsletter.  

 

A  look  at  our  recent  studies…  

Changing  Social  Attitudes  and  Giving  Behaviors  (Lead  Researchers:  Maggie  Renno  and  Karissa  Propson)  Many  studies  in  our  lab  suggest  that  young  children  use  information  about  the   social   identity   of   others   to   guide   their   friendship   preferences   and  helpful  gestures.  Two  of  our  more  recent  studies  are  looking  at  the  ways  in  which  we  might  alter  these  preferences  and   behavioral  tendencies   in  the  lab.  How  can  we  encourage  children  to  be  more  open  to  individuals  from  a  variety  of  backgrounds?      

In  one  experiment,  we  are  testing  whether  receiving  help  (in  a  computer  game)   from   members   of   a   racial   outgroup   changes   children’s   racial  attitudes.  In  another  experiment,  we  are  testing  whether  experiencing  the  generosity   of   racial   outgroup  members   changes   children’s  willingness   to  share  resources  with  people  from  different  backgrounds.  Although  it  is  too  early  to  draw  conclusions,  the  results  of  the  research  are  promising  so  far.  Broadly,   we   are   hoping   to   identify   the   sorts   of   experiences   that   might  prompt  children  to  be  open  to  people  from  different  backgrounds.    

 

Thinking  About  Access  (Lead  Researcher:  Leah  Dornbusch)  In  our  community—and  across  the  globe—people  differ   in   their   level  of  access  to  resources,   their  amount  of  material  wealth,  and  the  types  of  challenges  that  they  face.  These  are  features  of  many  children’s  social  environments,  but  we  know  little  about  how  children  think  about  others  who  differ  along  these  dimensions.  A  recent  senior  honors  thesis  project  in  the  lab  explored  how  children  think  about  various  markers  of  social  status  and  whether  they  impact  children’s  social  actions.

In   this   study,   5-­‐   to   9-­‐year-­‐old   participants   heard   short   descriptions   about   unfamiliar   children   depicted   in   a   photograph.   The  descriptions   were   designed   to   convey   information   about   one’s   level   of   access   to   resources   or   opportunities   (for   example,  clothing   or   travel).   After   hearing   descriptions   about   several   children,   participants   rated   how  much   they   liked   each   child   on   a  “smiley  face  scale”  and  also  had  the  chance  to  select  how  many  toys  they  wanted  to  give  to  each  child.  

Overall,   participants   expressed   some   degree   of   liking   across   the   children   who  were   displayed.   Participants   tended   to   prefer  children  who  were   described   as   having  more   access   to   resources   over   children  who  were   described   as   having   less   access   to  resources.   However,   participants   distributed   more   toys   to   children   described   with   less   access   to   resources   over   children  described   with   more   access.   These   findings   revealed   that   children   attend   to   information   about   differences   in   access   or  opportunity  at  a  young  age  and  use  that  information  differently  in  relation  to  liking  and  giving.    

 

Power  and  Body  Language  (Lead  Researcher:  Libbie  Brey)  A  person’s  body  language  can  reveal  a  great  deal  about  what  they  are  thinking  and  feeling.  Several  studies  in  our  lab  are  currently  asking  whether  children  pay  attention  to  body  language  information  to  figure  out  how  two  people  are  related  to  one  another.    In  particular,  we  have  been  interested  in  whether  children  can  use  body  language  to  guess  who  might  have  more  power  in  a  social  interaction  between  two  people.  

In   one   study,   young   children   watched   videos   featuring   real   people   who  displayed  different  kinds  of  body  language.  One  person  displayed  cues  that  are  usually  associated  with  a  person  who  has  more  power  (for  example,  shoulders  back,   head   tilted   up),  while   the   other   person   displayed   cues   that   are   usually  associated   with   a   person   who   has   limited   power   (for   example,   shoulders  slumped  down,  head  tilted  down).  Older  children  (5  and  6  years  of  age)  were  quite  accurate  at  guessing  which  people  were  “in  charge”  in  these  videos,  but  younger   children   (3   and   4   years   of   age)   had   some   difficulty.   Older   children  were  also  able  to  guess  which  people  were   in  charge  when  we  showed  them  photographs  (rather  than  videos)  of  adults.  

In  another  study,  we  asked  younger  children  to  guess  who  was  in  charge  after  watching   videos   where   there   were   both   body   language   and   language   cues  (one  person  told  the  other  person  what  to  do)  about  power.  In  these  videos,  young  children  were  able  to  determine  who  was  in  charge.    

The  findings  show  that  by  5  years  of  age,  children  are  quite  skilled  at  using  subtle  cues  to  figure  out  how  people  relate  to  one  another.  Younger  children  understand  what  it  means  to  be  “in  charge”,  but  do  not  seem  as  sensitive  to  relevant  body  language  cues.  One   possibility   is   that   children   learn   these   cues   gradually   over   time   by   observing   how  people   in   different   positions   act  toward  one  another.  

Here’s  one  of  mine!