Frequently Asked Questions

Our studies are designed for children of different ages; though, typically they are designed for children between the ages of 2 to 8 years. Only children who have permission from their parents/guardians and who themselves consent can participate in our studies.  

Each child will only participate on one occasion (unless otherwise specified in the consent form). Each session is approximately 10-15 minutes and will take place during a time that is convenient for your child, their teacher, and the classroom schedule.  

During a session, your child may watch a story about characters on a computer, look at pictures, play a game, or watch a scenario enacted with small toys or puppets. During the stories and games we will ask questions such as, "How do you think this character feels?" 

Our studies are designed like stories, games, and activities that children would encounter and engage in on a daily basis. If your child wishes to stop at any time, the session will end immediately and they will be thanked for their time. 

Our studies have been approved by the Human Research Ethics Board (HREB) at the University of the Fraser Valley.   

At the end of each session, all children are thanked and told they did a great job helping with the activities. 

As a thank-you, each child (regardless of whether they completed the entire session) will be given a sticker and a certificate.  

Click here to learn more about our team. All members of the lab have received a Vulnerable Sector Criminal Records check and have completed the CORE (Course on Research Ethics) training as outlined in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2) 

Our studies will happen at a date and time that is convenient for your child's school/preschool/center. A reminder sign placed somewhere in the building will indicate the date(s) we will be visiting. 

Your child's responses will be coded and assigned to a participant number, and your child's name and any other identifying information will be removed. All data and information is strictly confidential and will be kept in a secure location at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Because individual children are not identifiable, we do not disclose results from any participant to the school or parents/guardians. The results of our studies are always in the form of group averages and will be presented and published in this way. There is an option on the consent form to sign up to receive our newsletter which describes our research projects and the results of the studies that were recently conducted. If you would like a copy of our newsletter, please be sure to provide your contact information.

Depending on the results, a manuscript detailing the study may be submitted to a scientific journal to be published. You can read some of our publications and listen to presentations on our past projects here. 

There is also an option on the consent form to sign up to receive our newsletter which describes our research projects and the results of the studies that were recently conducted. If you would like a copy of our newsletter, please be sure to provide your contact information. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at kidslab@ufv.ca or Dr. Pesowski at (604) 504-7441 ext. 4206 or madison.pesowski@ufv.ca

We are interested in how children aged 2 to 8 years understand and respond to the social world. We ask how children reason about others’ thoughts, emotions, and actions, and how children understand concepts like ownership. You can read about our research here. 

Yes, our project has been reviewed and approved by the Human Research Ethics Board at the University of the Fraser Valley. If you have any questions about this ethics approval, please contact the Ethics Officer at 604-557-4011 or Research.Ethics@ufv.ca 

Our study would occur during program hours, at a time that is convenient for the classroom schedule, teachers, and children. Children would individually meet with the researchers on one occasion for less than 15 minutes. We will work with the teachers to determine when and how children are pulled aside to participate.

During the session, children would play short games and watch brief stories enacted with toys and pictures. An example story might involve a character who has something happen to an object they own, such as it getting lost or taken by someone else. Following the story, the researchers would then ask a few brief questions to gauge what children think the character will do and how the character feels.

The researchers will have everything they need to conduct the project during the visit. 

The session would require a small quiet area, such as a corner in a classroom or elsewhere; though please note, we are not requesting a private area for the session. 

No additional help or work from the teachers or administrators are needed during the visit. We only ask assistance in distributing and collecting the permission forms, and in scheduling a time that would be convenient for us to visit and conduct the study.

All children of the ages noted in the information letter and consent form (typically ages 2-8 years) have the opportunity to participate. Only children who have permission from their parents/guardians and who themselves consent can participate in our studies.

Parental/Guardian permission must be obtained prior to participation. Once parental/guardian consent has been obtained, children will be given the choice to participate and have the right to withdraw from the study at any time.

If you grant permission for the study to be conducted at your school or preschool, we would provide you with the information letters and permission forms for families, and we would ask your assistance in distributing and collecting them. 

Once the forms have been returned, we will schedule a visit during a day and time that is convenient for you, the teachers, and the classroom schedule. Depending on the number of families interested in participating, we may request to schedule more than one visit to ensure that all children with parental/guardian permission have the opportunity to participate. 

When we send you the information letters and consent forms for families, we will also provide a reminder sign. Once we have scheduled the visit with you, the sign can be filled out and placed somewhere in the building to inform families of the date(s) we will be visiting.

There are many benefits to participating! You’re directly contributing to our scientific understanding of how children think! We’d be happy to send you a brief write-up of our work to include in a newsletter if you have one or we could provide our own newsletter that you could distribute to families. 

We’re also willing to give a presentation to teachers and families on our research or general findings from the field of developmental psychology.

Your preschool/school will receive a book donation as a thank-you, and each participating child will receive a sticker and certificate.

Depending on the results, a manuscript detailing the study may be submitted to a scientific journal to be published. You can read some of our publications and listen to presentations on our past projects here.

There is an option on the consent form for families to sign up to receive our newsletter which describes our research projects and the results of the studies that were recently conducted.

Children’s responses will be coded and assigned a participant number, and any identifying information such as their name will be removed. All data and information is strictly confidential and will be kept in a secure location at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Because individual children are not identifiable, we do not disclose results from any participant to the school or parents/guardians. The results of our studies are always in the form of group averages and will be presented and published in this way. 

There is an option on the consent form to sign up to receive our newsletter which describes our research projects and the results of the studies that were recently conducted.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at kidslab@ufv.ca or Dr. Pesowski at (604) 504-7441 ext. 4206 or madison.pesowski@ufv.ca