3-145 - ManyBabies: Bringing large-scale collaborative projects to infant development research

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Questions about the reproducibility, replicability, and generalizability of the scientific literature have created anxiety within the scientific community and in the lay public (e.g., Open Science Collaboration, 2015). The ManyBabies project (Frank et al., 2017) is a productive response to these concerns: A global community of labs is actively collaborating to replicate and extend important research findings in developmental psychology, with a parallel goal of implementing and encouraging best practices (e.g., Open Science, pre-registration, no unethical data-peeking). Here we report on the current state and future directions of ManyBabies projects. The talks represent diverse theoretical perspectives, but stem from a unified collaborative framework that promotes robustness in research on early child development.

The first talk reports results and lessons learned from the first ManyBabies study, ManyBabies1, which examined infants' preference for infant-directed speech (IDS). As the first large-scale replication attempt in developmental psychology, this study revealed key insights that future large-scale collaborations could build on. Second, a spin-off study explores the influence of bilingual language experience on the IDS preference. The third talk reports on ManyBabies2, which tests Theory of Mind in early childhood to contribute to recent controversial theoretical and methodological debates in the field. The final talk introduces ManyBabies4, which examines infants' preference for prosocial agents using a highly controlled design in order to address recent replication failures in a systematic way. Together, the talks will encourage further community-building by reporting on a successful project, updating about ongoing projects, and inviting participation in planned projects.

Sub Unit

• Methods, History, Theory

Chair

• Casey Lew-Williams, Princeton University

Individual Presentations

• Lessons from the first ManyBabies project - Presenting Author: Melanie Soderstrom, University of Manitoba; Non-Presenting Author: Melissa Kline, Center for Open Science

• Does bilingualism affect the preference for infant-directed speech? Evidence from ManyBabies 1B - Presenting Author: Casey Lew-Williams, Princeton University; Non-Presenting Author: Krista Byers-Heinlein, Concordia University

• ManyBabies 2: Theory of Mind in Infancy - Presenting Author: Dora Kampis, University of Copenhagen; Non-Presenting Author: Kiley Hamlin, University of British Columbia

• ManyBabies4: A Large-Scale, Multi-Lab, Coordinated Replication Study of Infants’ Social Evaluations - Presenting Author: Kiley Hamlin, University of British Columbia; Non-Presenting Author: Kelsey Lucca, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Jessica Sommerville, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Michael C. Frank, Stanford University