at the
University of Delaware
This study investigates how children learn words and how they link these words to concepts they already know. In the first study, quantifiers (e.g. some, all, none) are used. 30 children age 3 -5 years and 20 children 6 -9 years old are to participate in this study. In the second study, the relationship between verbal encoding and memory for motion events will be evaluated using 30 children age 3 – 5 years as participants. A third study evaluates children’s reasoning and mental states, and 30 children age 3 -5 years will be participating in this study. The same 30 3 -5 year old children will participate in all three studies.
This study investigates perceptions about spoiling among mothers of young infants and implications these perceptions may have for working mothers and their infants. Parents of infants six months and younger are asked to fill out a questionnaire. Participation in this project is optional for mother’s of infants at the ELC.
This project will evaluate an intervention developed to help increase the ability to understand, self-regulate and utilize emotions. The project includes an Emotions course of teacher/caregiver – child activities to activate positive emotion expression and communication and Caregiver Emotion Tutoring and Coaching. In addition to measures approved under the general consent, this project includes a mother-child visit to the UD Human emotions lab for direct observation of mother-infant interactions.
This project looks at developmental aspects and structure of young children’s personal and fictional narratives. 30 preschool children will participate in the study. The children will individually participate in a narrative interview and in theory of mind tasks. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis. Participation in this study has a separate consent.
This study investigates children’s (age 9 – 12) satisfaction/dissatisfaction with their body sizes and the media influences on their perceptions of ideal body type. The Figure Rating Scale for Children and the Body Mass Index Silhouette Matching Test will be used. Interview questions will assess influences of television on perceptions of ideal body types.
A significant number of children in contemporary families are living apart from their biological fathers. This study includes non-residential fathers who are no longer romantically involved with the child’s mother. These fathers will be asked to participate in an interview probing their continued involvement with the child. Participation in this study is voluntary.
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between parent and teacher report of sensory regulatory difficulty among infants, between teacher and parent report of temperament among infants, and between sensory functioning and temperament among infants. Teachers will be asked to complete the Infant/Toddler sensory profile, the Infant Behavior questionnaire, and the temperament and atypical behavior scale for infants enrolled at the ELC. Parents of these infants will be asked to complete the I/T sensory profile.
Generic language (e.g., “Birds fly”) is a linguistic tool used to convey essential characteristics of a richly structured category (e.g., birds). Generic language is distinct from non-generic language (e.g., “This bird can fly”) in that it encourages generalizations about shared properties of category members. This study considers whether generic language assists children in learning and extending a novel verb. English speaking 36- to 40-month-olds (n = 40), 30- to 34-month-olds (n = 15), and 24- to 28-month-olds (n = 5) will be shown a picture book illustrating animals and their characteristic actions. For example, children will see a picture on one page of a frog jumping and on another page, of a kangaroo jumping. The experimenter will read, “Frogs can jump! See how they jump? Frogs love jumping! Kangaroos can jump, too. See how they jump? Kangaroos love jumping!” Children will then see a picture of a frog jumping and a frog swimming. They will be asked to “Point to jumping!” Questions regarding familiar actions will be followed by questions referring to novel actions.
This study examines daytime cortisol production patterns among toddlers in child care and how (if) these patterns relate to child behavior, temperament and attachment strategy. Both at home and on child care days are used. CBCL, TRF, and TBQ will be used to assess child behavior and temperament. When toddlers are about 2 years old, their family will be asked to make one lab visit in McKinly Laboratory (approximately 1.5 hours) for assessment of parent-child attachment using the Strange Situation. Parents will also be asked to collect cortisol samples at home on two non-childcare days (4 times each day) and on two child care days (2 times each day).
This study examines the quality of mother child nighttime interactions and how this relates to mother/child attachment in one year olds. Infants are videotaped for three nights to code how parents respond to the baby’s waking at night. Mother/ child attachment is assessed in a laboratory visit. This protocol is approved as a sub-project of the Infant Caregiver Project, Mary Dozier, PI. ELC involvement is to serve as a recruiting site for voluntary participation. Consent form required.
Transitions into new peer groups, to new routines, and to new caregivers may be stressful for young children. We have previously found that cortisol response to a new child care setting depends on the age of the child. We would like to further this study by examining cortisol regulation during transitions to new classrooms at the Early Learning Center. Infant to toddler and toddler to preschool transitions will be included. Morning and afternoon cortisol samples will be taken for 2 days prior to the start of the transition, daily during the first week of the transition and at 2 week intervals for 6 weeks after the transition period. The children will be videotaped in the new classroom so that behavioral ease of transition can be compared to neuroendocrine responses.
The purpose of this study is to describe teachers’ perceptions of their roles in relation to curriculum. This study will focus closely on a subset of staff and on one aspect of their professional roles – the preschool and kindergarten teachers and classroom assistants as they work toward building a child-centered constructivist curriculum approach.