Here you will find a description of research projects conducted at the Play Lab. For presentations and publications from these studies, see the "Publications" web page.
The purpose of this project is to better understand how 5-year-old children interact with unfamiliar peers in a novel situation, and to learn about whether these behaviors are partially influenced by genetic factors. Children come to the playlab and are allowed to play freely with same-sex, same-age peers. Play is videotaped and later coded off tape by trained raters. Behaviors such as caring, sharing, rough and tumble play, physical and verbal aggression, and compliance are coded. This provides information about normative behaviors at this age. The use of twins also allows investigation into the degree to which genetic and environmental influences act on these behaviors.
Genetic Influences
on Early Cognitive Development:
Early cognitive development, such as ability
to conserve, engage in fantasy, and group similar objects, is studied in
1- to 4-year-old twins. Twins are tested within a month of their
birthdays in the play lab. This is a longitudinal study, with twins
being tested every year from age 1 (or as early as we can recruit them)
to age 4. Genetic and environmental influences on these cognitive
abilities are examined by comparing identical and fraternal twin correlations.
When the twins turn 5, they participate in the Preschool Free Play study
described above.
Daycare Influences
on Kindergarten Adjustment:
This study was completed in the spring
of 2000. Boys were assessed during the year before they began kindergarten
on measures such as temperament, self-confidence, and responses to provocations.
For boys who were attending daycare, their daycare teachers also rated
them on aggressive and prosocial behaviors, and the daycare setting was
evaluated. The following year, kindergarten teachers of the boys
rated the boys on aggressive and prosocial behaviors. Results of
this study appear to demonstrate that daycare laxness in discipline significantly
predicts both proactive (unprovoked) and reactive (response to provocation)
aggression while the child is enrolled in daycare. However, this
effect does not appear to persist through kindergarten. Furthermore,
family conflict may be related to reactive but not proactive aggression.
More detailed analyses are on-going.
Mother-Infant
Interaction in Twins -- Genetic and Environmental Influences:
This study involves
examining the interactions between mothers and their young twins during
structured and unstructured videotaped interactions. Twins were tested
longitudinally at ages 7, 9, 14, 24, and 36 months. Mother and twin
behaviors are coded to assess the degree to which mothers respond to their
children versus children respond to their mothers. Because twins
are used, mothers' responses to identical versus fraternal twins can provide
information about how much the children's own temperaments and behaviors
influence the mothers' behaviors.
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