The CAT Lab studies how children respond to social and emotional situations in their lives. We also study what tools, like attention, children use to deal with these events. We are interested in how this happens at the level of the body (biology), brain (behavior), and mind (cognition).

We conduct multiple studies with children of various ages. We are currently recruiting children between the ages of 4 and 6 years, young adults, and infants up to 7 months old. To learn more, please see Get Involved.

We know that families are very busy and it can be difficult to make time for research. As such, we do our best to schedule visits that are convenient for you. This includes both weekdays and weekends.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out our Interest Form!

Children of different ages will complete different tasks.

For children between the ages of 4 and 6:

You and your child will complete questionnaires about the child's feelings and behaviors. You and your child will play games together while we collect data about your brain activity using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, which is described below. You and your child will also get to wear eye-tracking glasses to help us learn about attention. Finally, your child will play computer-based games.

For young adults:

You will visit the lab with a friend and engage in a social interaction while mobile eye-tracking and heart rate data are collected. You’ll return for a second fMRI visit where you will “re-live” the social interaction by watching videos pulled from both your own and your friend’s perspective.

For infants:

We use functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, which is a non-invasive method to record brain activity from mom and baby at the same time, while they engage in some games together. We are also asking moms to answer some questions about their health, the baby's temperament, and the home environment to better understand how emotion regulation develops in context.

All of our studies are reviewed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). There are no risks associated with participating in our studies. There is also no direct benefit to you or your child. By participating, your family will be adding to our understanding of child development.

Most of our studies provide some form of compensation. However, it varies by study. In addition, children who participate in the lab portion of our studies will receive a prize for their hard work!

Our lab is located in the Child Study Center at Penn State University. However, the parking location is study specific. For more details, please visit each study’s webpage.

Yes, parking is free. You will either receive a parking pass or a validation sticker.

When you arrive, you will be greeted by one of our research assistants. The researcher will escort you to the study room, explain the study in detail, and answer all your questions. The researcher may also ask that you sign a consent form. We will provide a copy for you to take home.

Yes, if you wish to. We have multiple observation rooms where you can watch while your child participates in different components of the study.

Yes! Depending on the age of the child(ren), they can either stay with you during the study or we can arrange to have one research assistant play with them in our Family Room. Please let us know before your scheduled visit.