About the SMURF study

Before anything else, the study is totally voluntary. You are under no obligation to participate, and you can opt out at any time. All the things you do in the study will be kept private.

For the study, we are interested in the development of the brain systems that help children to feel confident and self-aware. We are looking for children aged 3 and a half to 6 years and their parents or legal guardians. We would ask your child to wear a special EEG hat that records brain signals. While wearing the hat, we would ask them to respond to pictures using buttons. After taking off the cap, we’d ask your child to read an electronic story book with us where they respond to pictures and questions about the characters. We would ask you and your child to wear a little heart monitor that sticks to the chest. We would also ask you to fill in some questionnaires about your child and your family. At the end of the visit, we would pay you $100 and we’d give your child a small toy.  Altogether, it takes an hour to an hour and a half.

To participate in the study, there must be a legal guardian or parent aged 19 or older at the study visit to provide consent, and your child must be over 3.5 and under 7 years of age. The child activities in the study involve responding to simple questions in English and pressing buttons to respond to pictures. The caregiver activities also involve responding to questionnaires in English. If you don’t think you or your child would manage these activities, it is best not to participate in this particular study, as we don’t wish to upset or distress children in any way.

If you are still interested, you can sign up here for an appointment:

www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A48AAA82BA7FECE9-64340891-smurf 

We’ll email you with the details for where to come.

Alternatively, just let us know your availability to visit us or send us any questions by email (blablab@unl.edu ).