Investigating social communicative development in multi-age samples

I had the opportunity to work as a LuCiD intern at the Lancaster University Babylab for six weeks during my summer break. Throughout my internship, I participated in three ongoing research projects.

My primary responsibility involved data collection for a decision-making study, under the supervision of Dr. Kirsty Dunn. I conducted the A-not-B Object Search paradigm on 8-9-month-old babies while simultaneously recording their brain activity using fNIRS equipment, which measured the babies’ cortical haemodynamic activity by emitting near-infrared light into the brain. I was responsible for running all the stages of this study, from participant recruitment to debriefing the project. The testing session involved a 20-minute tabletop activity, in which I would hide a linky toy in one hole in a box multiple times and encourage the baby to find it. Though they are good at this, subsequently switching the linky to another hole often causes babies of this age to make an error and continue searching for the toy in the first location instead.

Workings of the fNIRS and the A-not-B Task Methodology

I was given extensive training by Dr. Dunn to run the Search Task and by Dr. Louah Sirri on operating the NIRS equipment. I found it rather interesting to witness my theoretical understanding of object permanence and infant-directed speech from my developmental module, in practice at the Babylab. I am therefore appreciative that LuCid has made it possible for me to apply what I have learnt in my second year by conducting testing during this summer.  

The collected NIRS data will now be used to analyse the difference in their brain activity when babies made the error versus when they did not. In doing so, Dr Dunn and her colleagues hope to theorize an explanation as to why babies make this error. By the end of my internship, I had tested about 20 participants, alongside developing my skills in working with infants and being the focal point of communication between interested parents and the research team.

Running the A-not-B Search Task while our little scientist wears the fNIRS headband

Secondly, I assisted Dr. Xiaoyun Chen with her project on perception of novelty among 5-12-year-olds by using the best-worst scaling method (Burton et al., 2021). I helped create a database for children by perusing a large sample of animal pictures and then classifying them into novel, unusual or common animals based on subjective experience. This material was then presented as a computer game for children, in which they were asked to help a curious cartoon alien learn about the different animals on planet Earth.

I also got to shadow PhD student, Betül Teksin’s project on investigating early response to infant-directed speech in a prenatal sample. The testing process involved a 4D ultrasound scanning of the fetus, during which versions of the same story in various speech styles were played close to the mum’s abdomen. I observed the differences in the fetus’ facial movements in response to whether the story was narrated in an adult-directed or infant-directed manner. This enhanced my understanding of foetal response to speech stimuli, and the role of their mother’s experience with different emotions on their linguistic development.

My time as a LuCiD intern has been beyond resourceful by offering me hands-on experience with research and studying development in a wide range of ages. It has helped me secure further placements this academic year and has enhanced my interest in pursuing a PhD in developmental psychology. I am particularly grateful to all three researchers for offering me insight into their projects and to our lab manager, Dr. Katharina Kaduk who went the extra mile to make my experience at the Babylab absolutely worthwhile.