See the world through the eyes of a baby
Wednesday 4 August 2010
How do babies see the world? Hundreds of local babies have been visiting the Surrey Baby Lab to help researchers at the University of Surrey to answer this question. Babies and their parents visit the Surrey Baby Lab for about half an hour and babies are shown images on a computer monitor. A special camera allows researchers to know precisely what the babies are looking at in the image. By taking note of what does and doesn’t capture babies’ attention, researchers can piece together an idea of what and how babies see.
The research so far has focused on finding out how babies see colours, how babies’ perception differs to adults, and how babies detect differences amongst things. Now, the Surrey Baby Lab is starting a new study and is looking for babies younger than 6-months old to help them with the research. Dr Anna Franklin, who set up the Surrey Baby lab ten years ago, explains the aims of the study: “We all have personal preferences for different colours, but research has shown that there are some colours (e.g. blues) that are commonly liked and that there are other colours (e.g. dark yellow) that are commonly disliked. These patterns of preference appear to be common to many different cultures. We would like to find out whether young babies are also drawn to the same colour. This will tell us something about how babies see colour, and will also help us understand the origins of colour preference.”
If you would like your baby to take part, or would like further information please contact the Baby Lab team: Tel: 01483 682915, E-mail: babylab@surrey.ac.uk, or visit their website: www.surrey.ac.uk/babylab
Media Enquiries
Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk