We would like to invite you to participate in some interesting research being conducted at the Cognitive Development laboratory in the Institute for Human Development (IHD) at UC-Berkeley. Research at the IHD has been featured on the Discovery Health Channel, the NY Times, Newsweek, several parents' publications and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Our findings have been useful to pediatricians in measuring infant progress and development. Our hope is to continue to provide basic scientific knowledge about children's early development, and practical information that may be useful to parents, educators, and policy makers.
The Cognitive Development Lab, directed by Alison Gopnik, conducts studies with children ranging from 15 months to 5 years of age, investigating how children think and reason about the world around them. During the first years of life, children acquire a vast amount of knowledge about language, people, and objects. Our research explores basic issues in cognitive development including how children begin to understand the mental states of others and learn about how causes create effects.
During a study, you will be with your child at all times and we provide toys and babysitters if you have other children that you would like to bring along. The Institute is just a short walk from the downtown Berkeley BART station, and there is free parking on campus near our building if you prefer to drive. Although many families choose to come several times to participate in different studies at different ages, participation in one study does not commit you to any other visits. As a thank you for your participation, we offer a gift for your child and once the study has been completed, we will provide an explanation of the results the study.