Current Studies

Examining caregivers’ interactions with a digital child - ELLA

Soul Machines has developed BabyX, a groundbreaking, lifelike interactive model of a human infant. Using a touchscreen and webcam, BabyX engages with users in real time, mimicking real infant behaviour. The Early Learning Lab uses BabyX to explore how parents respond to infant cues, with the goal of improving caregiver responsiveness through targeted interventions.

We are seeking parents of children aged 1 to 3 years to participate in this ground-breaking research. Sign up now to be a part of this exciting study, funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Marsden Fund.

Key Contact: Florian

Babies and Auditory Discrimination - Music Lab

This study seeks to understand what sounds babies can distinguish between. We know how quickly infants acquire language, but what is it that they are hearing and paying attention to in their auditory environment that facilitates this?

We have designed a listening study where babies will watch and react to cartoon characters making sounds to gain a better understanding of their fine grained auditory abilities.

We are looking for families with infants between 3 and 6 months of age. Please sign up today or spread the word to families you know who may be interested in helping us with this research!

Key Contact: Juliet

Can Babies Hear 'Wrong Notes'? - Music Lab

Babies around the world love music. But do they experience music like adults? We are testing that question here with the help of Sunny—an animated character who sings different melodies with its friends. By observing if babies show surprise at the same musical notes as adults, we can figure out if they hear melodies like us.

We are looking for families with infants between 4 and 10 months of age, with no known vision or hearing issues. Please sign up today or spread the word to families you know who may be interested in helping us with this research!

Key Contact: Courtney

Over Selectivity - AUT and ELLA

Our study investigates decision making in children, focusing on how they use feedback to learn what to pay attention to. In this study, children will play some interactive games with the researcher, such as a choice game and some card-sorting games.

We are looking for 2 to 4 year old children to participate, who have no known vision or hearing issues. Please sign up today or spread the word to families you know who may be interested in helping us with this research!

Key Contacts: Stef, Ying and Stefanie

School of Psychology
Building 302, 2nd Floor
23 Symonds Street
The University of Auckland
Auckland, 1142
Aotearoa / New Zealand

Phone:
+64 9 9234236
Email:
developmentalscience@auckland.ac.nz