Day 2: Spatial Cognition in Infants Lab - Psychology with Edmund Fernandez

Today, I went to the Spatial Cognition lab. While not as hands-on interesting, I still found the descriptions of the studies extremely fascinating. The main question, one Edmund Fernandez was happy to inform me, was how do infants perceive the space around them?

One interesting study I was shown was for infants of 6 to 7 months. They are seated in front of a large screen. There are a couple different methods. In one, a long sound will play, and be paired with a small box that flashes to one side of the screen. The same note will play again, and this time the box is flashed on the other side. Scientists track the baby’s eye movements to see how long the baby stares at the picture when the sound plays without losing interest. The study is repeated, but this time the new baby is shown short sounds with small objects and vice-versa. A third version of the study consists of a short sound being played, and two shapes - one big and one little - flash on opposite sides of the screen. What researchers have found is, babies associate small sounds with small objects (and the other way around).  The study has been repeated with pitch, with much the same results. Low pitch = large object and a high pitch = small object. If the scientists “teach” the baby that a long sound = small object, when the test is repeated with small and big objects, the baby still looks longer at the large object when long sounds are played and vice-versa.

Is this tendency to associate a natural thing, something that is “programmed” into us at birth, or do babies just pick it up?

Another similar experiment has boys and girls looking at a screen. One one side is the stereotypical girl doll - a blond princess pretty in pink - while the other features a blue monster truck. Again, scientists track which of the two pictures holds the baby’s attention the longest. Guys who look longer at the doll, vs the doll, are better than spatial reasoning. (Truthfully, guys are better at spatial reasoning in general, but I digress). What does this mean? Nobody really knows yet.

Another thing I learned related to a “mental number line,” so to speak. If you were to arrange numbers, most people - if not all - would say that they go something like this:

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 etc...

with small numbers on the left and large numbers on the right. On computer keyboards, it’s arranged the same way. Why do people do that? Toddlers are given two lions, one on the left and one on the right, and flashcards of “numbers” - two apples, three oranges, that sort of thing - and asked which toy or object would the left lion want? The right? Toddlers generally put the low amounts on the left and the high on the right - without prompting.  Adults were shown “happy” images, which theoretically made them happier, which made them respond faster to larger numbers. Sad images did the opposite.

We discussed Acrophobia and Claustrophobia (fear of heights and enclosed spaces, respectively) and a SPACE study that had the participants estimating distance from the top of a parking deck. Most people have a natural tendency to over-exaggerate the height, but those afraid of heights went above and beyond. One woman estimated the height to be over three football fields, when it was unlikely the height was even one football field high. Claustrophobic people underestimate, which makes sense when you consider the fact that those afraid of enclosed spaces might believe the world was “closing in on them.”

A study on “acuity” was explained to me next. This one was for adults. There was a computer with a square frame, each with blue and brown dots of different sizes. Each frame flashes on screen for barely a second, maybe even less, and the participants are asked,  which of the dots would take up the most space if added together? That is, if you took the area of each dot and added them together, would the area of the blue dots be larger or smaller than the brown dots? Most people, overwhelmed by the rapid flash of information, guess. They express confusion - “I have no idea!” - but adults are much better than they thought at this game.

To work in a lab like this, you would be very busy. It might get tedious, occasionally, but fun if you’re really interested. Knowing how to write up reports is an important skill, as well as being able to read efficiently. And, if you want to succeed, you better be organized. A typical day may consist of studying/testing 3 infants, 5 toddlers and 10 adults. It’s hard work, but “extremely rewarding.”

Day 1: Infant and Child Lab - Psychology with Erin Robbins

Monday, February 21, 2011

Yesterday was the Psychology day. I visited a grad student, Erin Robbins, who helps to conduct studies about the morality of little kids - infants and 3-5 year olds - that includes questions related to their sense of fairness, and justice, and how they understand probability and risk. We spoke about differences in cultures, and she showed me videos of kids playing simple games like when they have to split 9 poker chips two ways. Miss Robbins was very adamant about saying that she didn’t use words that could have an influence on the kid’s decision, like “share” or “divide” or “give.” The main question was, would the kids immediately split 5-4 in favor or them,  or the other way around?

I saw some videos where the child would take all for himself, no questions asked, and some where they would share. Mostly, the kid would take four for himself and give five to the instructor. I saw one particularly sweet video, where the student asked me to predict how a five year old girl would split nine animal crackers. I said the girl would probably take five and give four. I didn’t even consider it; it seemed very logical. Without a moment’s hesitation, though, she took four and gave four, and the ninth she split soundly down the middle. It gives me hope.

I also talked to another woman who studies race bias in small children. She mainly focuses on white/black, though recently has begun integrating Hispanics into the group. She would give the children dolls. There were white girls and black girls, white guys and black guys, with their hair covered so that hair color wouldn’t be a problem at all. To my surprise, I found that, beyond gender - girls preferring girls - boys preferred blacks and girls liked whites. She said it wasn’t 50/50, more like 60/40 whites, but still that shocked me! Not that there was a preference for one race, but that it was divided by gender.

I participated in some tests, pretending to be a little kid, and I was absolutely fascinated. They were simple games, like the splitting one I mentioned earlier. On one such test, the objective was to test the little kid’s ability to predict risk and probability and act accordingly. There were two square spinners. On Spinner A, there were three chips per side, and on Spinner B, there were six on one side and six on the opposite side. First, the child was asked to make a decision for himself. If he spun on Spinner A, he was guaranteed to have 3 chips, but Spinner B could get him 6 chips, easy. While the Law of Averages dictates that both have an equal probability of getting 3 chips, kids don’t think of it that way. Reckless, or curious, or competitive kids took Spinner B. More cautious, logical, or simply uneasy kids chose Spinner A for themselves. Generally, however, these 3-5 year olds chose Spinner A.

When asked to make the decision for another person, a stranger whom the children will never meet, the kids usually chose Spinner B. I personally would have done it out of curiosity - would the person succeed? - but there were a variety of reasons. Some wanted the stranger to have less than them. Some wanted to help the stranger get more. Kids from down South, like in Samoa, usually picked Spinner A for both. On the subject of cultures, we spoke some more. Let’s say a little kid got a jar they couldn’t open that had a simply fantastic toy inside. A Japanese kid, for instance, would almost never ask for help opening the jar. It was a 2 out of 40 ratio. The American kids, for instance, would be much more likely to give up after five seconds and ask for help. Does this say something about our culture? I believe it does.

We also discussed mindfulness, and the affect on small children. I have some experiences with mindfulness, and have found that it increases concentration and memory and attention span. For little kids, we don’t know much about that. We also talked about the Psychology of writing - that is, she informed me of its existence and told me to look it up. I will, gladly.

After this, I spoke briefly to Dr. Namy. We discussed how infants learn language. Let’s say there was a strange new thing on the table. If I pointed to it and said “Miskit” repeatedly, you’d get the idea that the strange new thing was a Miskit. But, kids don’t learn language solely from having their parents point at everything and saying what it is. That would take years and years. Instead, there are a few theories: Nature/Nurture. Nature says that kids are practically born with the ability to learn a language, while Nurture says the kids pick it up from everything around them. I did a very difficult test where four made up objects flashed on screen. Four made up words in random order were said as I stared in confusion at the strange pictures. Many sets were repeated, sometimes with new sets of objects and sometimes with a few similar ones. I found myself getting lost as the gibberish meshed in my brain. I could hardly differentiate the words, let alone pair them to strange objects I forgot promptly as new ones were flashed on screen. There were a few words I paired with objects (correctly or not I still do not know). For example, something that sounded like “rachet” I paired with a funny looking gear thing, just because I associate ratchets with gears.

If this is how little kids learn language, it truly is a miracle.

We also spoke of Rosetta Stone and its claim to teach language to adults similarly to how babies learn it. Their claims, Dr. Namy assured me, were lies. Maybe not completely. Certainly, associating pictures and objects with words is how babies do it, in part. But we had an interesting discussion on why it doesn’t work. When you’re sitting at your computer, trying to remember how to order french fries at the restaurant, if you mess up you can always restart and try again. In a restaurant, if you screw up, you can’t do much about it except for trying to redeem  yourself by getting it right the second time.

All in all?

Today was very informative.

I wouldn’t mind working there as a grad student :)

Day 0: Before the Labs

Kerfuffle: n. Confusion or commotion, usually caused by conflicting views and/or interests.

As an eighth grader, no word could more accurately describe my state of mind. Suddenly, figuring out what my interests are, deciding what I want to focus on in high school, and determining where my passions lay has never been more important. Of course, teachers have told me that I have "plenty of time to figure things out" and I "shouldn't worry yet" but, between class placements and extra-curricular activities, I know that realizing what I'm interested in could be a huge advantage.

When asked if I wanted the opportunity to explore different majors at Emory University in a way that does not incorporate tests and grades, I agreed faster than I could process the information. After debating the subject with my parents and teachers, I decided to focus on a few main areas at Emory:

• Psychology, specifically the Child Care Center, with Dr. Laura Namy (Find more information here)
• Chemistry with Dr. Cora Macbeth (Find more information here)
• Biology with Dr. Ron Calabrese (Find more information here)
• Anthropology with Dr. George Armelagos (Find more information here and here)
• Why you are doing this?

Aside from Chemistry, which I am expected to start in the spring, and Biology, which I will be learning as a Freshman, I would never have the opportunity to study Psychology or Anthropology.  I will be taking videos, if possible, and writing about my experiences on this blog for my classmates, and anybody else who is curious, or just wants to explore with me.

-Maya