Infant motor development and parent-child interactions

“Dr. Libertus, the lab managers, other RA's, and graduate advisors are all very professional and close-knit.  The lab is supportive and makes sure that everyone is reaching their fullest potential.  The research is relevant to current topics in the psychological and academic world.”

Supervising Faculty:  Klaus Libertus

Contact: Ran An (Lab Manager), OnlineBabyLab@pitt.edu

Area of Research:  Developmental Psychology

Description of Research: The Online BabyLab at the University of Pittsburgh examines how babies develop new motor skills (such as grasping, crawling, walking,…) and how these skills influence their interactions with others and their future learning. Most of our studies are conducted online where we connect with and record families via video conference. Our research results in a large number of observational video records that need coding and transcription for analysis. 

Duties of Students:

To join the OnlineBabyLab as a Directed Research student, you should be enthusiastic, hard-working, and genuinely interested in obtaining research experiences in Developmental Psychology, specifically working with babies and young children. You should also be able to commit 5-10 hours to lab work each week. Primary duties include:

  • Recruiting families for new studies
  • Behavior coding and video transcriptions
  • Assisting in collecting new data via videoconference visits
  • Data entry and checking

Requirements:

  • Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • 12 credits of Psychology (including current term)
  • STAT 0200/1000/1100 Statistics
  • PSY 0036 Research Methods Lecture
  • PSY 0037 Research Methods Lab
  • Must obtain clearances to work with children (Act 33/34/73)

Terms offered: Fall and Spring

Number of Students: 10-15

Students should apply here: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bKQFMvHwuj5SV8x

For more information on current studies, please visit our web site: www.onlinebabylab.com.