Arlington Family Connection

RESOURCES - Infant Studies

Infant Studies

Many area universities study infants and child development for research purposes. Studies can be fun for both the child and the parent. Most are about 30 minutes, but may vary according the current study. The parent is with the child the whole time. Most studies are videotaped and are used for coding afterwards. Videos are kept confidential and the infants are only reffered to by their subject numbers. A small token gift or monetary gift is given for participating. Free parking. Supervision and playroom available for siblings

Infant Vision Lab
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center
University of Massachusetts Medical School
200 Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA 02452
(781) 642-0259
Principal Investigator: Ann M. Skoczenski, Ph.D.
Research Assistant: Ariella Soffer
infantvision@umassmed.edu
www.shriver.org/Research/Psychological/InfantVision

Research of infant vision will hopefully contribute to the healthy development of vision in children in all ages. Studies performed are simple and non-invasive. The parent will be with the baby the entire session, which takes 45-60 minutes. The baby’s vision will be tested by means of a brainwave technique called Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs). The child will wear some small sensors placed on the scalp while s/he watches moving patterns on a video monitor. IVL is interested in testing infants as young as possible.

Laboratory for Developmental Studies
Harvard University
Psychology Department
William James Hall - 11th floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 384-7930 or (617) 384-7777
infant@wjh.harvard.edu

The Laboratory for Developmental Studies at Harvard studies how children learn to perceive and reason about the world around them. Their studies have shown that babies know much more than people once thought. The LDS at Harvard study topics like how infants remember objects, how children learn, how they categorize the objects around them, and how they learn names for these categories. Accessible by MBTA - Orange or Green Lines.

Infant Cognitive and Language Development Laboratory
Northeastern University
169 Nightingale Hall
Boston, MA
(617) 373-7890
Fei Xu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Investigating how young infants perceive and reason about the world around them and how they learn their first words. Studies explore how infants understand objects that are partly hidden, how they categorize the objects around them, and how they learn names for these categories. Accessible by MBTA -Orange or Green Lines.