All my kids are in this database at IU for psychology experiments and we having been doing them since Grace was a baby. She has probably done at least 12 or more. As babies they have all kinds of experiments that they do but they don't have as many when they get older. So basically, I get a letter in the mail saying that my child fits their criteria, what the experiment is, and whether or not I would like to do it. Most of the time, the child gets a toy or book and we go home but in some cases we get a gift card or in today's example.... we got $50! It was by far the most intensive experiment and longest one we have done. Normally, they last 20 mins or so and involve pointing to toys or seeing which hand they use when we give them a toy or trying to see if they notice when I copy their behavior. (those are just a few of the ones I have done) Never anything harmful and never anything too big. I always have the option of stopping if my kids get upset. Normally, they love the experiments and enjoy working with the students and being the center of attention.
1.Play/ "Do not touch" : They basically put DAx and I in a room with toys on a table and toys on some shelves nearby. I was instructed only to let him play with the toys on the table and not the other toys. Well, of course, they put the fun toys on the shelves and the boring toys on the table. We lasted about 3 minutes before he started whining about the toys on the shelves. I think they were trying to see how we interacted with each other and how I disciplined him.
2.Candy game: They would give him a piece of candy (or raisin if you preferred) but he couldn't eat it until the bell rang. He actually did quite well with this one and waited for her to ring the bell.
3. Locked Box: They had this clear lock box with toys in side and they showed him how to open it with keys to get some toys out. Then they left the room but gave him a key and told him he could open it. Well, they purposefully gave him the wrong key to see how quickly he got frustrated and as soon as they noticed he was getting frustrated they would come back in. Well, I was in the room but behind this makeshift wall, so he knew I was in there but he couldn't see me. I could see him though. He was starting to get mad and he started to throw the box over the gate and told me to get it out. (haha) I gave it back twice and told him he could do it but he just kept throwing it back out. They came back in after that and gave him the correct key and let him get his toy!! ;)
He did sorting games, a stop and go game, Simon says game and lots more that were similar. Some he did really good on and others he didn't listen well enough but all in all he got lots of fun stuff and really enjoyed himself. Plus, we got $50 bucks!!! (oh, and they want to do it again when he is 3 and 3 1/2 which is fine with me)
My beautiful watch/actigraph......okay not really, I am just glad it was during the winter time and I could wear long sleeves!! On the right is Dax's little Teddy bear actigraph which he wore on his ankle!
They even left little presents everyday to open if he left his teddy bear on his ankle!! (surprisingly, he did which is kind of amazing because he is my more feistier one!!
Doesn't he look like he is wearing one of those house arrests ankle things?? ;)
5 comments:
Wow I have never heard that before, sounds fun. Nice to get rewarded too!
That sounds pretty interesting...it would be cool to see the results of their studies so you knew what they were testing. Nice that you get all that free stuff too!
Michelle
Hey Annie -
I was starting to get worried that something what wrong because you hadn't blogged in a while. So I am glad to see you are ok. That's a cool thing you signed up for. I would be willing to do that sort of thing too I just never thought to look into it. I'll give you a call soon. Tell the kids and Gene we said hello.
Kristy
That's pretty neat. Will they tell you the results of the study?
In response to Michelle Mowat's question as to what they were studying exactly..... well, they do acutally give me a sheet describing the study and why they are doing it. This one had to do with child and parent temperments in comparison to their sleep habits. They actually scanned his palm also, to see how far apart the ridges are because it can tell how much they were exposed to Androgen (a hormone) in the womb and they are finding out that it can also predict your child's temperment to some extent and how they will tend to react emotionally and behaviorally! Interesting stuff huh? Also, to answer Michelle Mccallum's question, I didn't ask about this particular studies outcome but I think they just started this study and it will be long one because they want to see how they will react as they get older too. I assume it takes years to process the information. I vaguely remember one time (at another study) giving my email so that they can email me the results someday about another study but other then that I don't know all the outcomes. They usually tell me that my children are pretty normal compared to the other children. In this particular study, they said they have had a range of responses. They were just glad that Dax corporated!
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