FAU Seeks Infants for Study on How Humans Learn to Shape Their World
How humans first realize their ability to willfully make things happen remains a mystery. A recent study by Florida Atlantic University made a giant leap into the origins of “acting with purpose” using human babies. FAU scientists used a simple scientific setup that’s been around for more than 50 years to catch infants in the act of discovering their ability to influence the world.
Researchers placed each baby into a crib with a mobile suspended above it. They then tied one end of a string to the mobile and the other to the infant’s foot. When the baby moved, so did the toy. This simple cause-and-effect interaction led to an aha moment for the babies as they realized they could control their movements and influence their environment. By measuring the coordination between the baby and the toy, researchers have shown that intention emerges only when an infant senses it is coupled to its environment.
To further this groundbreaking research, FAU scientists are seeking infants aged 2 to 4 months to participate along with their parents.
“We are interested in what’s going on in your baby’s mind as they play and discover that they can make things happen in the world,” said Aliza Sloan, Ph.D., a research scientist in FAU’s Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences and member of the FAU Human Brain and Behavior Lab and WAVES Emotion Lab, within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. “We place a special cap on the baby’s head to record their brain activity using a safe, non-invasive technology called EEG and use 3D cameras and sensors to measure the baby’s movements.”
The task takes about 15 minutes, and the visit with researchers lasts about one hour in the comforts of home, at the lab at FAU’s Boca Raton campus, or both.
The FAU WAVES Emotion Lab is dedicated to understanding the key factors that contribute to the development of socio-emotional wellness during infancy and childhood. The primary focus lies in exploring the physiological and behavioral foundations that shape affective development. Through this research, scientists can gain deeper insights into how early emotional experiences, interactions and caregiving practices work together to foster emotional resilience, social competence and overall well-being in children as they grow.
Participants will receive a $10 gift card for participating in the study.
For more information or to schedule a visit, email fauhbbl@gmail.com, text/call 561-235-2467, or visit ccs.fau.edu/hbblab/parents.php.
-FAU-
Latest Research
- 'Sharkitecture:' A Nanoscale Look Inside a Blacktip Shark's SkeletonFAU researchers have mapped the internal structure of blacktip sharks in unprecedented detail using synchrotron X-ray nanotomography with detailed 3D imaging and in-situ mechanical testing.
- Hari Kalva, Ph.D., Inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of FameWith 73 U.S. patents to his name, FAU engineering's Hari Kalva, Ph.D., a pioneering innovator in video technology, is one of 10 inventors selected for the 2025 class of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.
- Study: Supply Chain Plasticity and Firm Adaptation to Tariffs, RiskAs tariffs create economic uncertainty for firms and consumers , supply chain plasticity could be the key to helping firms navigate the trade environment, according to researchers at FAU and two other schools.
- Cyberbullying in Any Form Can Be Traumatizing for KidsA national FAU study finds even subtle online bullying - like exclusion from group chats - is linked to PTSD symptoms, suggesting that cyberbullying should be classified as an adverse childhood experience.
- 'Loop'hole: HIV-1 Hijacks Human Immune Cells Using Circular RNAsFAU researchers have identified a never-before-seen mechanism that enables HIV-1 to evade the body's natural defenses and use it to support its survival and replication.
- Twist of Light: New Tool May Unlock Gravity, Quantum Mechanics LinkFAU physicists and collaborators have tackled one of science's biggest mysteries - how the universe works - and they believe light may hold the key.