Babies' Brain Responses to Strangers
Researchers at the Diversity in Development Lab at UC Santa Cruz are investigating how babies’ brain activities respond to people from familiar and unfamiliar racial backgrounds.
Fast Facts
7-12 Months Old
Typically Developing
Compensation Provided
Conducted in Santa Cruz, CA
Study Background
How do babies start to think about familiar and unfamiliar people?
In this study, we are investigating how babies’ brain activities respond to people from familiar and unfamiliar racial backgrounds. Participation involves a one-hour one-time visit to our lab located on the UC Santa Cruz campus (in Social Science 2 building (Social Sciences 2, 710 College Ten Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95064). Free parking is included and siblings are welcome! All families will receive up to $40 for their participation.
The study itself for the babies will be 15 minutes, but we ask for a 1-hour visit to have ample time to make sure your baby is comfortable in the new surroundings. Your baby will wear an EEG cap that records their brain activity from the scalp (similar to a heart rate monitor) and watch videos of people from diverse racial backgrounds doing fun activities. By recording the brain activities of your baby as they watch these people, we will be able to better understand how they are starting to think about people who are from familiar or unfamiliar racial backgrounds. We will also ask you as the parent to complete two surveys to help us better understand your baby’s social network and who they see regularly. This information will help us see how exposure to racial diversity is related to infants’ brain activities.
EEG stands for electroencephalogram. It is a painless, non-invasive, and safe method that we use to record brain activity. The EEG cap has a series of small, passive electrodes (very much like a sensor or heart rate monitor) that record electrical activities generated by the brain that can be picked up over the scalp. The cap is soaked in a warm, saline solution to help the electrodes pick up the electrical activities and gently placed on your child’s head to wear during the study.
If you have an infant aged 7-12 months, your child may be eligible to participate in this study. Help advance research by joining today!
UCSC IRB number HS-FY2023-23
Study Background
How do babies start to notice and think about race?
In this study, we are investigating how babies’ brain activities respond to people from familiar and unfamiliar racial backgrounds. Participation involves a one-hour one-time visit to our lab located on the UC Santa Cruz campus (in Social Science 2 building (Social Sciences 2, 710 College Ten Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95064). Free parking is included and siblings are welcome! All families will receive up to $40 for their participation.
The study itself for the babies will be 15 minutes, but we ask for a 1-hour visit to have ample time to make sure your baby is comfortable in the new surroundings. Your baby will wear an EEG cap that records their brain activity from the scalp (similar to a heart rate monitor) and watch videos of people from diverse racial backgrounds doing fun activities. By recording the brain activities of your baby as they watch these people, we will be able to better understand how they are starting to think about race. We will also ask you as the parent to complete two surveys to help us better understand your baby’s social network and who they see regularly. This information will help us see how exposure to racial diversity is related to infants’ brain activities.
EEG stands for electroencephalogram. It is a painless, non-invasive, and safe method that we use to record brain activity. The EEG cap has a series of small, passive electrodes (very much like a sensor or heart rate monitor) that record electrical activities generated by the brain that can be picked up over the scalp. The cap is soaked in a warm, saline solution to help the electrodes pick up the electrical activities and gently placed on your child’s head to wear during the study.
If you have an infant aged 7-12 months, your child may be eligible to participate in this study. Help advance research by joining today!
UCSC IRB number HS-FY2023-23
Additional Information
The goal of this study is to understand how babies are starting to notice and think about people from familiar and unfamiliar racial backgrounds. This study will help us understand how infants are starting to think about people along racial lines and what factors are important to this development.
Your child may qualify for this study if they are:
- 7-12 months old
- Typically developing (no significant medical conditions)
- Must have been born 37 weeks or later
This study will be in-person. Participants will come in person to our UC Santa Cruz campus for a 1-hour visit.
Families will first get comfortable in our lab space while we explain what EEG is and what the EEG cap will look like. Once the baby is ready, the baby will wear an EEG cap that records their brain activities and watch about 15 minutes of videos in which people from diverse racial backgrounds do fun activities. After they are done watching the videos, we will provide compensation and answer any questions. You will be asked to fill out a demographic survey and a social network survey before or after your visit.
Note: A sitter, nanny, or other caretaker can also bring the child to the study visit, as long as the parent or legal guardian sends the consent form beforehand. Parents must also fill out the other two surveys.
You can receive up to $40 for participating in this study. You will receive $30 for your infant’s participation in the lab, and $10 for completing the surveys. Compensation in the form of Amazon and Visa gift cards will be provided through email.
There is no cost for you to participate in our research study.
