Visit Information

Visit Information

Before signing up for one of our projects, we want to help you know more about what you can expect while participating and how we at the Family & Development Lab protect your personal information. If you decide you would like to participate, you can complete the registration form.

How long does a typical visit take?

In our current video project, although it differs based on the number of tasks we’re filming and how old the children are, it typically takes us somewhere around 2 hours to film several tasks with each child. Before scheduling your visit, we will send you a full list of all the tasks we are hoping to film with your child, so you’ll know what to expect.

I work full-time or my child attends school/daycare, so we can’t participate during the day.

No problem! We are able to schedule around your family’s needs, so evening or weekend visits can also be arranged.

What ages of children are you currently looking for?

For our current video project, we’re looking to film common developmental tasks with children of ages 12 months, 18 months, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years old. Do you have a kiddo in this age range and you’re interested to see what they may do in some of these tasks? You can register your family here.

What if I have multiple children who could participate?

Wonderful! We would likely reach out to you to schedule multiple filming dates that work for your family. In addition, while one child is participating, we can provide child care for your other children.

What will my family do?

Once we receive your registration form, we’ll email you to learn a little more about your family and determine whether you’re eligible to participate. Then we’ll give you lots of information ahead of time about the tasks that we’re interested in potentially filming with your child, and you (the parent) get to decide if there are any tasks which you don’t want your child to do. If you’re interested in having your child participate, we’ll schedule a time for your visit, and review the tasks we’ll be doing once you arrive and re-confirm the tasks you were interested in having your child do.

Can I be present during my child’s recording session?

Of course! Parents are invited to stay in the same room with their child during the entire filming process, and one of our staff will be available to answer questions or describe the tasks as they’re being filmed.

What if there’s a part I don’t want to do?

We want all our participating families to have a pleasant and comfortable experience, so if there are any tasks with which you feel uncomfortable, we can simply skip it. You and/or your child are free not to participate or to withdraw at any time, for whatever reason.

What if I still have more questions?

That’s great! Feel free to email us and we’ll do our best to answer any questions you may have about participating in our video project. You’re also free to ask us whatever questions you have at any point before, during, or after participating in our project.

Am I committing to anything by registering?

Absolutely not! Registering your family is simply a way of indicating you would like more information. If you register and are eligible for our current project, we will contact you and explain all the details. You can decide at that point whether you would like to participate or not. If you indicate on your registration form that you would like to be contacted about other studies in the Family & Development Lab for which you are eligible, we will contact you in the future when those opportunities arise. As always, you’re free to decide whether or not you would like to participate.

What will happen to these videos once they’re recorded?

The goal of this project is to create a library of high-quality developmental psychology videos to demonstrate what children are capable of at various ages. We plan to create a video database to be hosted through the Providence College Library where instructors and researchers may access these videos for use in their classrooms and research labs. Beyond a child’s first name, likeness, and/or age, other personal details about them will not be shared in the video. Typically, these videos will be compilations of several children across various ages engaging in the same task to show how children tend to perform differently over time. None of our tasks involve any deception, and are meant to display the fun and interesting developmental changes that occur in the first few years of life.

How do we sign up or learn more?

To learn more and potentially sign up for our video project, please fill out the participant registration form.