Welcome to the Infant Cognition Lab!

Infant Cognition Lab University of Illinois

Our lab is located in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

We study cognitive development in the first three years of life. In particular, we focus on the development of physical, psychological, and moral reasoning. We ask questions such as: How good are infants and toddlers at keeping track of hidden objects? Do they consider what information is available to others when predicting their actions? And do they expect social interactions to follow principles of fairness and ingroup support?

We have restarted our in-person studies in the lab with a university-approved COVID safety protocol designed to keep our participants, staff, and students safe. We are also running online studies that parents can participate in from their homes.

Visit our For Parents page for more information on how to participate in our studies. To review our COVID safety protocol, please visit this page.

About the Infant Cognition Lab

The lab opened its doors in November of 1984. Since then, the lab has conducted over 25,000 test sessions with infants and toddlers, thanks to the generous participation of parents from Champaign-Urbana, central Illinois, and other parts of the United States (via Zoom appointments).

The lab’s Director, Dr. Renée Baillargeon, is an Alumni Distinguished Professor Emerita of Psychology and a Center for Advanced Study Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois.

The lab has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the John Templeton Foundation, as well as by monetary awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fyssen Foundation, and the University of Illinois.