Rutgers’ Early Learning Project Seeks Infants For Study On Early Learning

Rutgers’ Early Learning Project is actively seeking participants between the ages of 2 to 18 months for several studies on infant learning and memory development.

The goal of the project, which is directed by Dr. Carolyn Rovee-Collier and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is to gather information about the normal development of learning and memory over the first two years of life.  Specifically, we ask what infants of different ages learn, how they learn it, what they remember about it they learned, how long the remember it, what influences whether or not they show what they know, how their memories are updated, and the effect of reminders on what and how long they remember.

We always conduct our studies in infants’ homes (anywhere within 50 miles of Rutgers-New Brunswick) because that’s where they are “at their best.”  We visit at a time when infants are ready to play, because we teach them a game—kicking to move an overhead mobile, pressing a lever to move a miniature train round a track, or imitating a series of actions on a fuzzy hand puppet.  Sometimes, we just drop off the puppets and ask the parent to merely place in the infant’s view for a given amount of time before we come.  We visit at any time during the day or night, 7 days a week—whenever it’s most convenient for the parent.  We never wake up an infant, however; we either “wait it out” or come back.  (We have learned the hard way that infants who are awakened are usually out of sorts and not at their best.)   Most of our studies last a few sessions that range from 5 min to 15 min each—depending on the infant’s age and the particular study.  We study infants only at a given age (not longitudinally) between 2 and 18 months, but parents usually want their infant to participate again in other studies.  It turns out that what infants learn when we “play” with them will transfer to many other learning situations, giving them an advantage in solving problems in the future!  Participating babies receive a Certificate of Appreciation from Rutgers University, and a final report is sent to the parents when the study is completed.

Our research is very dependent on the interest of parents in their babies’ early learning.  As it turns out, what infants learn when we “play” with them will transfer to many other learning situations, expanding their early knowledge base and giving them a distinct advantage in solving problems in the future!  Although babies’ and parent’s social and work schedules are usually really full these days, it is critical to try and “fit us in” to the schedule too.  Questions about how babies learn and remember are essential to answer—and we are unique in the country in answering them.

Research conducted by Rutgers’ Early Learning Project has significantly transformed prevailing notions of how human infant memory operates.  In particular, the lab’s research has shown that babies are active information seekers who form very specific memories about objects encountered in their environment and that these memories last much longer than previously thought.  Studies conducted by the Rutgers’ Early Learning Project are included in most introduction to psychology and child development textbooks and have been published in numerous professional journals, such as Science, Infant Behavior and Development and Infancy, and consumer magazines, such as Time, Newsweek, and Parents.

Interested parents can contact Rutgers’ Early Learning Project at (732) 445-4819 for more information or visit our website at http://earlylearning.rutgers.edu.