Families and Research at UW–Madison

Help us learn how 4-year olds think about numbers. We’re inviting 4-year-old children to participate in a fun research study on how kids think about numbers. The activities are designed to be engaging, age-appropriate, and enjoyable for young children!

Time Commitment: Two sessions, approximately 30 minutes each, scheduled within a 15-day period (ideally within one week).

Location: Conducted at your child’s preschool / affiliated school

Compensation: Your child will receive a small gift (e.g., a children’s book) for participating in the study.

Additional details are provided in the attached consent form.

How to Participate:

Please review and sign the consent form. Then return it to your child’s preschool.

If you have any questions about the study:

please contact us at park675@wisc.edu

The DISC lab aims to understand how children think about different social groups. We would love to collaborate with schools, community centers, and daycares to gather a diverse population of kids to inform our work! We specifically want to work with kids between the ages of 4 through 6. 

If you or someone you know would be interested in participating, please send an email to DISClab@psych.wisc.edu or call us at +1- 608-265-2246, where a research assistant from our lab will get back to you at your earliest convenience. Additionally, if you would like to speak with a staff member in person, our offices are located in the Brogden Psychology Building at 1202 W Johnson St in Madison, WI. 

The CDL partnered with the Development of Intergroup Social Cognition (DISC) Lab in Spring 2025. 

UW-Madison Neurology is seeking participants for a study on the long-term cognitive development of children, including healthy infants and those who had a history of a perinatal brain injury.You may be able to join the study if you:

• Have a healthy child up to 6 months of age with no prior history of a brain and or cardiac illness early in life, OR
• Have a child up to 6 months of age who was diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, cerebral palsy, and/or was born premature at less than 28 weeks gestational age.

As part of this research study, your child will complete an online game and assessments. Parents will be asked to fill out questionnaires. Study participation will entail 4 virtual appointments over the course of 2 years. Compensation up to $175 will be provided for your participation. Time Commitment: 45-60 min per visit.

Dr. Seth Pollak’s Child Emotion Lab  is recruiting 10- to 13-year-olds for a study about how children use reward information to make decisions, sign up here. 

Dr. Martha Alibali’s Cognitive Development & Communication Lab is inviting children in grade 7 to participate in a study that explores how children think about data. To learn more or sign up for this Interpreting Data study, please email cogdevmath@psych.wisc.edu. 

The UW Department of Psychiatry is looking for women age 25 or older who have or do not have symptoms of PTSD and a 6-8 year old daughter to participate in a research study. Participation includes clinical interviews and questionnaires about mental health and behavior of both mother and child. If eligible, participants may be asked to participate in an MRI instead of behavioral tasks at WisPIC. Participants will receive up to $150 for completion of study visits and behavioral tasks at WisPIC, OR up to $275 for completion of study visits and the MRI session.

Please contact the Women’s Mental Health Program at 608-265-0767 or womensmentalhealth@psychiatry.wisc.edu for more information and to see if you qualify for participation.

The Infant Learning Lab at the Waisman Center is recruiting chidren and families. Are you Interested in helping us study how children learn language? Participants include children from 6 months to 6 years of age.

• Most studies take just 20 minutes.
• Sessions take place at the Waisman Center at UW-Madison.
• We provide childcare for siblings & free parking.
• Families will receive a thank you gift (cash, t-shirt, or book).
• You will be with your child the whole time!

Dr. Anne Marie Singh and the University of Wisconsin Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine are looking for expectant parents to join the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Study. ECHO is looking at how early life environments and experiences affect childhood development. Expectant parents who meet the following criteria may be eligible to enroll: are 18 years of age or older, are less than 20 weeks pregnant and plan to deliver in Madison, WI. For more information about ECHO or to enroll in the study: call us at (608) 228-9590, email ECHO@medicine.wisc.edu or fill out the intake questionnaire. 

Dr. Julie Poehlmann and Dr. Douglas Dean with the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study are looking for infants between the ages of 3-months-old and 9-months-old to come to the Waisman Center at UW-Madison for a 1-hour practice EEG session. The purpose is to practice applying the cap-like EEG net on babies of different ages as well as running the 4 EEG tasks. If interested, please email hbcd@bi.wisc.edu or call 608-265-6541.

Dr. Douglas Dean’s research lab at the Waisman Center is recruiting infants between 1-24 months with and without an older sibling with autism for a study on early brain and behavior development. For additional information about this study, please email babysibs@bi.wisc.edu or call 608-262-6706.

Dr. Martha Alibali’s Cognitive Development & Communication Lab is recruiting kindergarteners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders to participate in a study that looks at how children think and learn about patterns with shapes and numbers. To learn more or sign up for the Patterns Perceptual Support study, please email cogdevmath@psych.wisc.edu. 

Dr. Susan Ellis Weismer and Dr. Jenny Saffran are looking for children to participate in research on the UW-Madison campus about how toddlers learn language. They are looking for typically developing children 18-24 months old and children with diagnosed or suspected ASD between 24 and 35 months. Complete this online sign-up to participate.

The Women’s Mental Health Program (WMHP) is led under the direction of Dr. Stowe within the Dept. of Psychiatry at UW-Madison. Dr. Stowe conducts psychological research with pregnant women, new mothers, and their children. The primary goal of WMHP is to understand the transgenerational effects maternal mental health and trauma exposure can have on the behavioral, neural, and psychological development of her child. To inquire about current research projects please email womensmentalhealth@psychiatry.wisc.edu. 

The Center for Healthy Minds often recruits people from all ages and backgrounds to improve well-being. If you are interested in participating in research at the Center, you can join the participant registry.