Examining developmental origins of visual imagery through childhood play- Group 1

The proposed research focuses on a rather unexplored question that concerns the origins and development of individual differences in object and spatial visual imagery. We consider visual play preferences as an environmentally sensitive manifestation of individual differences in imagery, which may potentially serve as an indirect or related measure of visualization ability in preschool children.
In the current project, we will conduct a field study in the format of a children's ‘Play and Learn’ festival. Here is the link to our last year festival: a https://www.imageryplay.space/
By looking at children’s play choices, we will examine dissociation between visual object play (e.g., exploring drawing media or decorative crafts) and spatial play (e.g., assembling and disassembling mechanisms, or playing with construction toys) preferences. We will study how children engage in different types of play activities to learn about their preferred approaches to processing visual information. Understanding visual play preferences can offer valuable insights about an individual's ways of processing visual information and cognitive visualization abilities. For example, a child who consistently prefers construction toys and spatial puzzles might exhibit better visual-spatial problem-solving skills.
We will integrate combined child-adult assessment and field research to study play behavior (e.g., play preferences in terms of favorite visual toys or ways of play). Our Field Child Edutainment Study will be offering a variety of visual-spatial and visual-object activities with traditional manipulative toys such as constructors and creative design sets. This study will involve around 100+ children (4- to 6-years-old) engaged in hands-on participation in play and tactile interactions with toys. We will observe children’s toy and play choices in ecologically valid, naturalistic settings (festival at Sabanci University, organized in May).

For this project, we will recruit play station assistants and researchers among Sabanci students. We will supervise and train the students who would work at the play stations and assist children as researchers.

If you are interested in joining our team, please fill out the questionnaire at this link: https://forms.gle/B7Ub4hzfURpPH89H6. Afterwards, you may be invited for the interview.  
 
Prerequisites:
- General interest in cognitive and development psychology and/or specific interest in the topic of imagery, childhood development, play behavior.
- Readiness to contribute for at least 1-2 hours per week during the semester, and at least 6 (or more) hours on the day of the event (TBD, most probably sometime in May), and a day before it  (book full weekend for the event).
- Interpersonal and organizational skills: communication ability (especially, communication with preschool children), teamwork, empathy, positive attitude, and creativity.

Desired but not required:

- Volunteer experience in community events (e.g., Human Library)
- Extensive experience/ work interacting with young with children (including family members)
- Research/ academic writing experience
 
 
---- More details about the planned Field Child Edutainment Study----
We will invite children from local communities (e.g., university members, nearby workers, visitors to toy stores, children from kindergartens, and schools in the area). The announcements will include the link to the survey for parents with questions about their child (imagination characteristics, play behavior, cognitive and emotional development) and family (e.g., parental control). Prior to the day of the event, after completing the survey, parents will receive a ticket for their child with a unique number. On the day of the event, children will receive ‘passports’ with their ID numbers and engage in different tasks (e.g., creative art making, design, solving picture puzzles, assembling geometrical constructors). Children will be freely selecting and joining creative visual activities at different play stations (e.g., tables), equipped with necessary materials (e.g., educational toys, art supplies) that will be ruled by student assistants. At each play station they will be provided with the instructions and materials, and upon the completion of each task, participants will have their passports stamped with a stamp indicating the station. They will also have each work photographed together with their participants’ number. The researcher will make observations. After participating in various activities at the event, before leaving the stations’ area, children will have their passports photographed and receive gift toys.