Academic Papers
Thousands of parents and their children have helped us learn more about child development! Learn about what parents have helped us discover in our peer-reviewed academic papers below. Click the links to download the papers.
Current Papers
The Early Deception Survey (EDS): Its psychometric properties in children aged 10–47 months. Journal: Cognitive Development. Year: 2026. Authors: Hoicka, E., Prouten, E., Matthews, D., Saul, J. M., & Donnellan, E
We developed the Early Deception Survey (EDS) to create an early deception taxonomy and measure. Study 1, which was exploratory, found N = 130 parents reported children engaged in 16 deception types before 47 months, with the earliest report at 8 months. Deception was frequent, typically produced within 1 day of parents completing the survey, and understood within 1 day. Parents’ deceptions towards children positively correlated with children’s deception understanding; and parents’ deception encouragement positively correlated with children’s deception production and understanding (although most parents did not report encouraging deception). Studies 2 (N = 167) and 3 (N = 382) found the 16-item EDS was unidimensional with good internal reliability for 10- to 47-month-olds. While Study 4 (N = 85) found the EDS was unrelated to deception lab tasks, Study 5 found convergent validity (N = 610), but not predictive (N = 203) validity with the Early Social Cognition Inventory, and good longitudinal stability (N = 203). While parent agreement (N = 28) was strong, parent-Early Years Educator agreement (N = 10) was poor. Furthermore, based on our sample, 25 % of children were predicted to engage in at least one deception type by 10 months, 50 % by 16 months, 75 % by 24 months; and 97.5 % by 38 months. We found only one demographic difference in how parents answered individual items, and found less educated and younger parents reported higher EDS scores.
The Early Pretending Survey (EPS): A reliable parent-report measure of pretense type development for 4- to 47-month-olds. Journal: Cognitive Development. Year: 2024. Authors: E. Hoicka, E. Prouten.
We present a new 18-item parent-report measure of pretense development for 4- to 47-month-olds: the Early Pretending Survey (EPS). Study 1 (N = 231) demonstrated good internal reliability, and a strongly correlated 2-factor structure for 4- to 47-month-olds. Study 2 (N = 587) also showed good internal reliability, and found the two factors loaded onto a latent second-order Pretend Play factor. Study 3 (N = 84) found the EPS correlated with a researcher-led pretense experiment, however it no longer correlated when controlling for age. Additional analyses using subsamples of parents from Studies 2 and 3 showed good inter-observer reliability between parents (N = 29), and good longitudinal stability after 6 months (N = 196). Additional analyses combining Study 1–3 participants (N ≤ 902) found no item functioning differences across demographic variables, including child age, country, and socio-economic factors. Children’s EPS scores increased as they aged; girls had higher scores than boys; and children of younger parents had higher scores. Finally, we examined the age patterns of each EPS item, demonstrating when 25 %, 50 %, and 75 % of children were predicted to pass each pretense type. The EPS is useful for researchers to better understand how pretending relates to other areas of development (e.g., cognition, language). The EPS could also help parents, early years educators, and children’s media professionals decide which pretense types to use with children of different ages.
The Early Independent Problem Solving Survey (EIPSS): Its psychometric properties in children aged 12–47 months. Journal: Cognitive Development. Year: 2023. Authors: E. Hoicka, S. Powell, S. E. Rose, E. Reindl, C. Tennie.
Independent problem solving (IPS) involves solving problems alone; with motivation and persistence; without watching others; or requesting or receiving help. The Early Independent Problem Solving Survey (EIPSS) was developed for 12- to 47-month-olds. Study 1 (N = 272) found good internal reliability and a 2-factor structure: Repetitive (repeatedly solvable problems, e.g., jigsaws) and Novel IPS (one-off problems, e.g., reaching out-of-reach toys). Study 2 (N = 567) confirmed good internal reliability and the 2-factor structure. Study 3 (N = 85) found a positive correlation between a divergent thinking lab measure and Novel IPS. Study 4 found good 6-month-longitudinal stability (N = 110) for the EIPSS and its subscales; and good agreement between parents (N = 32) for the Repetitive subscale. Study 5 (all data combined) demonstrated no item functioning differences across demographic variables. Differences for child age, child gender, parent age, and parent education were found for the EIPSS and subscales.
Humor and social cognition: Correlational and predictive relations in 3- to 47-month-olds. Journal: Cognitive Development. Year: 2022. Authors: Soy Telli, B. & Hoicka, E.
We examined the relations between humor and social cognition in early development. In Study 1, 84 3- to 47-month-olds completed social cognition and humor lab tasks. Parents completed the Early Social Cognition Inventory and the Early Humor Survey. Once age was controlled for, there was a positive relation between the parental surveys, but no relation between the lab tasks. Study 2 (N = 573) extended the surveys to a large diverse sample, finding this relation held for children under 1 year, and 1-, 2-, and 3-year-olds; and within gender, socio-economic status (parent education; household income), country (UK, USA), and ethnicity (Black, Asian, and minority ethnic ethnicity, White ethnicity). In Study 3, 214 parents from Study 2 repeated the surveys six months later. Humor predicted social cognition, but not the reverse. Social cognition and humor may be related in day-to-day life, but this relationship is difficult to capture in the laboratory.
The Early Humor Survey (EHS): A reliable parent-report measure of humor development for 1-to 47-month-olds. Journal: Behavior Research Methods. Year: 2021. Authors: Hoicka, E., Soy Telli, B., Prouten, E., Leckie, G., Browne, W. J., Mireault, G., & Fox, C
We report five studies in which we developed and tested a new 20-question parent-report measure of humour development for children from 1–47 months: the Early Humour Survey (EHS). These studies, involving 890 parents and their children from around the world (including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Focussing on 671 of the parent reports, we charted the ages at which 25%, 50%, and 75% of children appreciate 20 different types of humour, including peekaboo, misusing objects, and mislabeling. Parents can look at the last 3 columns of Table 1 in the paper to find out when they might expect their children to appreciate different types of humour. Parents were very good reporters of their children’s humour – when both parents reported on their children’s humour separately, they generally reported the same things. Our research found that the EHS can be used in different English-speaking countries, and with parents of different levels of education. When pooling all data, we found no differences in humour development across demographic variables, including country, parent education, or child gender. The EHS is a valuable tool that will allow researchers to understand how humour: (1) emerges; and (2) affects other aspects of life, e.g., making friends, coping with stress, and creativity. The EHS is helpful for parents, early years educators, and children’s media, as it systematically charts early humour development.