What is the iLearn Project

This research is designed to help us understand three things:

1) We want to know how learning develops and matures across infancy from 6 to 18 months of age.

2) We want to know whether infants who learn, remember, and relearn quickly on one learning task or at one age also learn, remember, and relearn quickly on another task or at other ages.

3) We want to test whether infant learning is related to cognitive and language development at 2 years of age.

Our lab at KU has been studying individual differences in infants for over thirty years. This research has given different scientific fields important ways to assess the way infants see, think, and process information. These advances have led to important changes in the early identification of infants at risk for developmental disabilities or delay, and our laboratory has been heavily involved in changes to infant formula in the last 20 years

All visits will take place at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, KS. There is free and plentiful parking directly in front of the building.

During each visit to our lab, infants will play two games in which we will test whether they learn that a certain behavior results in a fun consequence (for example, pressing a lever makes a toy train run, or looking at a visual stimulus activates a voice talking to them).We expect each visit will take 30-45 minutes. We also have a few questionnaires for the parent to complete.

We anticipate no risk or discomfort to you or your baby for participating in this study.

Obviously, we hope that your infant’s participation in this study will contribute to our scientific understanding of the development of this very important part of cognitive development during infancy. In some cases, if a parent has concerns over their child’s development, we can offer free testing and referral. Finally, to compensate you for your time and travel, we will pay you $25 per visit.