Babbling babies are learning plenty
It’s not easy being a baby.
Researchers at the University of Regina want to know how babies learn to grasp the simple things.
Jeff Louks, assistant professor of psychology with the Early Cognitive Development Lab, has always had a fascination with human behaviour and wants to know what are the building blocks to intelligence.
“We’re really smart creatures on this planet,” said Louks. “I think that a lot of that happens with babies.”
“Babies, even though we think of them as really unintelligent creatures because they can’t hold a conversation, they are actually spending a lot of time thinking about things and processing things.”
In this study, he and his research team are hoping their 40 six-month old baby participants will help answer a few questions about how babies learn.
“We are interested in how infants’ motor development affects how they perceive actions that they see other people performing,” said Louks. “It seems like a relatively simple kind of understanding — like if I pick up this (thing) and move it that I have an intention to move it — but young infants have to learn that, they don’t know that about the world. So we think that when they get their own ability to grasp things, that gives them some insight into how other people do those same actions.”
Once the lab completes its testing, the data will be gathered and interpreted.
“One application of this research is early detection of deficiencies in social skills,” said Louks. “If we know what young infants should be doing at this age in terms of their social perception, then if we can find differences, then this may help us to identify potential problems such as autism.”
On Tuesday, Annabelle Mason stopped by with her mother Amber to add their contribution to the study.
Dressed in hot pink and denim leggings, the blue-eyed baby girl made short work of the tasks.
She demonstrated how easy it was for her to grab the coloured plastic balls not once but twice in a row.
After completing the two tasks, she sat down and played just for fun.
Amber heard about the study online and thought it would be a fun activity for her and Annabelle.
As a mother of two, she has always had an interest in how babies learn and said it was fun to observe how Annabelle learned and adjusted to both tasks.
Tasha Nagel, ECDL lab co-ordinator, said there are two parts to this study; one is a habituation task and the other is a grasping task.
Although the study of sixmonth-old babies is almost wrapped up, she is still looking for a few more baby participants.
Parents interested in getting involved can visit the Early Cognitive Development Lab Facebook page or call the lab at 306-585-4396. There is also an online sign up form parents can fill out that is available at www.uregina.ca/ louks5j/signup.html.
Nagel said there are other studies being conducted and that the lab is always recruiting participants.
“BABIES ... ARE ACTUALLY SPENDING A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT THINGS.”
JEFF LOUKS