Participate in Research Studies!
Research at the UM Living Lab
The UM Living Lab hosts 猎奇重口 research teams to bring their research studies to the community at the Missoula Public Library. We have a resident lab -- the UM Minds Lab -- a developmental psychology research group which conducts studies with children. We also host guest research teams for studies with a wide-range of people.
Interested in Participating?
Are you interested in being contacted about opportunities for your child/children (ages 3 years and older) to participate in our research studies?
Our studies with kids involve games, play, and questions – which both kids and their observing parents find enjoyable! Our participants receive a certificate and a small thank you gift for helping with our research.When you sign up, we will let you know if any of your children are eligible for a current study and you can sign up for a session right away. If your children are not currently eligible, we will contact you when they are eligible to see if you (and they) are interested in participating. Of course, there's no obligation and you can decide at that time if it is of interest to you and your child.
Current Studies for Kids
Learning from People and Technology [Coming Soon!]
How do people learn from other people versus technologies?
What: Researchers from the will be exploring how older children and adults learn from people and smart technologies. We are interested in trying to better understand who (or what) children prefer to learn from, and if their learning preferences depend on the type of information.
Humans + Robots Morality Study
Do children think an autonomous or remote-controlled robot is responsible for its actions?
Who: 3 and 5 year olds
What: Dr. Rachel Severson and the research team are exploring whether children think a robot dog is responsible for its harmful actions. Does it matter whether the robot dog is autonomous or remote-controlled? More generally, how do children think about robot dog that is autonomous or remote controlled? How do children's judgements compare to their thinking about people?
Where: UM Living Lab @ Missoula Public Library
How: Walk in or for a session for your child to participate during our regular open hours.
Current Studies for Adults
PT Group Towel Folding Test
How are activity of daily living metrics related?
Who: Adults 18-89 years
What: Dr. John Quindry's research team at the UM School of Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training are utilizing the Towel Folding Test as a "new activity of daily living metric" and comparing participant outcomes with that activity to already established metrics for activity of daily living. These metrics are paired with surveys to determine physical activity readiness.
How: Walk in sessions on Saturday, 3/29, 1-4pm; Tuesday, 4/8, 2-5pm; and Tuesday, 4/29, 4-6pm.
Past Studies at the UM Living Lab
CAFÉ Move
Dr. Andy Kittleson
How does your body respond to various tasks?
Researchers associated with Café Move are eager to help adults understand physical health, on their own terms. Café Move offers 3 simple activity measures of physical health: strength, mobility, and balance. People can use these measures to obtain personalized reports of performance, based age, height, and gender. Their hope is that people will engage with these measures, and use their results to develop their own best plans for physical health, in consultation with healthcare providers
The Biology of Sociality and Stress (BOSS) Lab
Dr. Stephanie Dimitroff
How does the body respond to attraction?
Researchers from the conducted a speed dating study involving adults of various age ranges within five events held in the Missoula Public Library in order to explore how romantic connections are made and how human bodies respond to attraction. This study explored "physiological synchrony at the level of the heart, and other biological parameters, are related to mutual likeability and attraction between strangers." They plan to do a 6-month follow up study to determine if any of the 65 speed dating matches become romantic partnerships. Find more about the study .
Current topics the BOSS lab is researching include: physiological synchrony, interoception, immune system, HPA axis, autonomic nervous system, stress, relaxation, attraction, likeability
Intentions + Culpability
Dr. Rachel Severson
How do children understand one's intentions and their responsibility for their actions?
Researchers from the explored 3- to 5-year-olds' understanding of doing things 'on purpose' versus 'by accident' and how that understanding relates to one's responsibility for their actions. For example, think about the difference between knocking over a glass of water by accident or on purpose -- people tend to judge the latter more harshly! In this study, the Minds Lab team is expanding our understanding of the link between intentions and culpability by probing children's thinking when the agent is a person or a social robot.
Sharing + Learning with People and Technology
Dr. Rachel Severson and Sarah Sweezy
How do learn from and share with people versus technologies?
Researchers from the explored how 5-6-year-olds learn and share with people and technologies, like social robots and smart speakers. We are interested in whether moving in sync with another (like clapping) affects how children think about and share with others. We are also trying to better understand who (or what) children prefer to learn from, and if their learning preferences depend on the type of information.