Task Breakdown

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GiMeR

GiMeR is slang for Giraffe Mental Rotation, which is our updated version of a traditional mental rotation task. In GiMeR, we want to see if children can predict which direction a cartoon giraffe will walk if it were on its feet, starting at an angle of 0° and ending at a rotation of 180°. On the eye tracker we do GiMeR first. On the SurfacePro we do GiMeR second.

Global-Local

Global-Local (GL) is gathering data on global vs. local processing, or if individuals tend to allocate attention towards the general shape of a stimulus or if they are more inclined towards the details that comprise a stimulus. There are no correct answers in this task. Global-Local is completed second on the eye tracker, in conjunction with VSTM. On the SurfacePro we do Global-Local first as a separate task from VSTM.

VSTM

VSTM stands for Visual Short Term Memory. In this task, children see three colored circles that disappear, then immediately reappear with two circles unchanged and one a different color than before. We are interested in assessing if children can discern which circle changed color. On the eye tracker, VSTM is done second in conjunction with Global-Local. On the SurfacePro, VSTM is completed last as a separate task from Global-Local.

Play Session

Our play sessions are an opportunity to observe what children do naturally when they are presented with different kinds of toys. Our toy stimuli are grouped into structured and unstructured play tasks. The unstructured toys do not have a "goal," that is, they encourage imagination and free play. The structured toys have a "goal," such as completing a puzzle. It is imperative to remind parents to not give any verbal or physical prompts during these play sessions so that the data is child-driven.

Mullens

Mullens Scales of Early Learning is an assessment tool used quantify cognitive and motor ability. In our study, we only use the fine motor scale. We are not clinicians and this is not a diagnostic interaction. We use this method to quantify increases in fine motor dexterity over time, as it may be related to how children play and their spatial data.

NIH Toolbox PVT

The NIH Toolbox Picture Vocabulary Test is a language assessment for children ages 3+. This application is on the iPad and runs on its own. The PVT presents 4 images and then projects a word. Children have to choose which picture matches the word that they heard. This test increases in difficulty based on performance, and allows us to see where children's language abilities fall on a national scale.