Infant Perception Laboratory

Research in the Infant Perception Laboratory focuses on infants' attention and perception throughout the first year after birth, particularly their emerging understanding of communication and language.  Example of past projects:

• does early social attention predict aspects of infants' language learning?

• how do vocal and facial emotion effect word learning?

• how do infants perceive differences in speech accents?

• how do infants learn to process speech when other noises  and distractions are present?

We measure infants' attention and processing by recording natural behaviors such as infants' looking times, heart rate activity, and eye tracking.  Also, we occasionally incorporate live play situations with colorful toys and wall posters to see how well infants use adults to help them guide their attention.

We are located in the Department of Psychology on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. We welcome all infants between the ages of 6 and 14 months to participate in our projects. Please call us at 231-3972 if you are interested, or email us at babylab@vt.edu.