If a babies can walk, do they understand verbs?That's a lofty question for adults to ponder. Fifteen-month-old Lydia Ritter was busy with a Fisher-Price "Brilliant Basics Rock-a-Stack," and rock it she did, doing a fine job of putting the bright plastic rings back onto a pole.The playtime was well earned; Lydia, daughter of Stacy Ritter, of Montandon, just had her test in Baby Lab, Portable GPS signal Jammer,a Bucknell University research project on early infant development — specifically, how babies learn words before they can talk.
It's the furthest thing from a lab one might imagine; no beakers or test tubes, just toys and a playroom,Portable Mobile Phone Signal Jammer, a TV monitor and recording equipment."We're looking at how infants connect to words," said Ruth Tincoff, assistant professor of psychology, who founded Baby Lab when she arrived at Bucknell in 2008. "It's a very small focus and very targeted."
In the four years since Baby Lab was founded, about 80 families have brought in infants for play and study in learning about infant and child development, language and cognition.The babies just do what they do and Tincoff and her team — seven students this semester — record the results.And Becky Boucher, a junior neuroscience major from Simsbury, Conn., who wants to be an optometrist, said while the connection may not be clear, "this has taught me a lot about children that I can apply. It's lessons for all walks of life."
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