Participate in Research!

Researchers in the Lifespan Institute investigate psychological, social, health, neurophysiological and educational aspects of life from infancy to old age. These studies provide important information for our community, programs, and services.

We are always looking for community volunteers of all ages who are interested in participating in research studies either online or in person at Brock. You (or your child) will get the opportunity to take part in fun and interesting studies and learn more about your (their) development – all in the name of science!

You can sign up for the Brock Lifespan Research Registry

By signing up, you can learn about various research opportunities. By joining the registry, you will be informed about studies that match your interests and age group. Your privacy is important to us! Any information you provide will be stored in a secure database in the institute and be kept private and confidential. Only researchers conducting studies within the Lifespan Institute will have access to the information. You can contact us at any time if you would like to make any changes.

You can also view specific opportunities below

Take me to the studies that are available for:

Children

  1. Have you ever wondered how learning to read changes how children see the world?
    1. Who can participate? Monolingual children, ages 5-, 6- and 7-years old are invited to participate.
    2. What is involved? Viewing groups of images while an eye tracking camera records responses, following this your child will complete activities that assess reading readiness, attention, and memory. Parents will fill out questionnaires about your child’s behaviours, thinking, and temperament. This will take about 2 hours total. Free parking is provided!
    3. Click here for more information 
  2. Have you ever wondered what happens to children when they do resistance training?
    1. Who can participate? Children ages 8 – 11 years old.
    2. 8 laboratory testing sessions at Brock University across 16 weeks (for both training and control groups) and 12 weeks of 2x weekly resistance exercise training at the Brock BFit Centre (training group only).
    3. Click here for more information

Teenagers and Young Adults

  1. Have you ever wondered how your perceptions influence the taste of coffee? 
    1. Who can participate? Anyone ages 16 or older.
    2. What’s involved? A testing session on-campus (free parking provided) that is approximately 20-25 minutes in length. Participants taste one of four coffee blends, and answer a survey based on the taste.
    3. Click here for more information 
  2. Have you ever wondered how Black youth athletes experience concussion recovery and return to sport, and what shapes that journey?
    1. Who can participate? Individuals who identify as Black, aged 15 to 24, who have experienced a concussion within the past 12 months and have been cleared to return to school.
    2. What’s involved? A 10-minute demographic survey and an hour-long interview that can be completed online or in-person.
    3. Click here for more information

Adults

  1. Have you ever wondered how young people respond to failure and success? 
    1. Who can participate? Young adults 18 to 30 years of age. 
    2. What is involved? A single, two-hour in-person session that will include completing surveys and a computerized task while we monitor your heart rate, electrical skin response, and blood pressure.
    3. Click here for more information 
  2. Have you ever wondered how electrical stimulation to your lower leg muscles can affect your balance and strength?
    1. Who can participate? Individuals age 18-30 (see details)
    2. What’s involved? Participation will involve a 1.5 to 2 hour in-person lab session where you complete strength and balance tests before and after receiving muscle stimulation or serving as a control, who receives no muscle stimulation.
    3. Click here for more information
  3. Have you ever wondered how bones rebuild stronger after exercise?
    1. Who can participate? Middle-aged adults, ages 40-50
    2. What’s involved? Three, in-lab testing sessions lasting 1.5 hours each, with 10 minutes of exercise in each session.
    3. Click here for more information
  4. Have you ever wondered if younger and older adults differ in their viewing patterns while watching movies?
    1. Who can participate? Adults aged 18 to 28.
    2. What’s involved? A 2- to 2.5 hour testing session on campus that involves watching videos while having your eye movements tracked, as well as completing questionnaires.
    3. Click here for more information
  5. Have you ever wondered how your perceptions influence the taste of coffee? 
    1. Who can participate? Anyone ages 16 or older.
    2. What’s involved? A testing session on-campus (free parking provided) that is approximately 20-25 minutes in length. Participants taste one of four coffee blends, and answer a survey based on the taste.
    3. Click here for more information 
  6. Have you ever wondered how focus and attention affect everyday life as we get older?
    1. Who can participate? Young adults (18-30 years old) and older adults (60-80 years old), access to a computer and internet or ability to come to campus.
    2. What’s involved? A 1.5 hour session either virtually or on-campus in the Neurocognitive Aging Lab where you will be asked to do an object perception game and fill out some questionnaires.
    3. Click here for more information

Older Adults

  1. Have you ever wondered how physical activity affects the time between each heartbeat?

    1. Who can participate? Individuals ages 55 and over who can walk for 6 minutes without stopping. See full page for more details.
    2. What’s involved? An approximately 1-hour testing session that involves measuring heart rate, blood pressure, etc. as well as walking, and filling out some questionnaires. See below for more details.
    3. Click here for more information
  2. Have you ever wondered how your brain activity can help us understand how sustained attention changes as we age?
    1. Who can participate? Older adults aged 60 to 80.
    2. What’s involved? A 2-hour in-person session at Brock University where you will complete computer tasks that test your ability to pay attention over time while your brain’s electrical activity is measured via your scalp using EEG technology.
    3. Click here for more information
  3. Have you ever wondered if younger and older adults differ in their viewing patterns while watching movies?
    1. Who can participate? Older adults aged 65 to 80.
    2. What’s involved? A 2- to 2.5 hour testing session on campus that involves watching videos while having your eye movements tracked, as well as completing questionnaires.
    3. Click here for more information
  4. Have you ever wondered how your perceptions influence the taste of coffee? 
    1. Who can participate? Anyone ages 16 or older.
    2. What’s involved? A testing session on-campus (free parking provided) that is approximately 20-25 minutes in length. Participants taste one of four coffee blends, and answer a survey based on the taste.
    3. Click here for more information 
  5. Have you ever wondered how aging impacts the experience of viewing a movie?
    1. Who can participate? Older adults ages 60 – 80.
    2. What’s involved? Two testing sessions, on campus (free parking provided), 48 hours apart, each session is about 1 hour in length.
    3. Click here for more information. 
  6. Have you ever wondered how focus and attention affect everyday life as we get older?
    1. Who can participate? Young adults (18-30 years old) and older adults (60-80 years old), access to a computer and internet or ability to come to campus.
    2. What’s involved? A 1.5 hour session either virtually or on-campus in the Neurocognitive Aging Lab where you will be asked to do an object perception game and fill out some questionnaires.
    3. Click here for more information
  7. Have you ever wondered how caregiving might differ across cultures?
    1. Who can participate? Adults aged 18 or older who have not provided care to an adult aged 60 years or older in the last 2 years.
    2. What’s involved? A single, approximately 25-minute online survey that will ask you about your social attitudes, cultural background, informal caregiving, and your well-being and information about yourself (e.g., age, gender).
    3. Click here for more information
  8. Have you ever wondered what men are thinking about caregiving for older adults?
    1. Who can participate? Men aged at least 18 years of age or older, and who have family members aged 50 years or older (e.g., spouse/partner, child/step- or adoptive child, or parent/parent-in-law) with long-term physical or mental ill health issues, disability or problems related to old age.
    2. What’s involved? A single, approximately 25-minute online survey that will ask you about beliefs and familiarity with care for older adults, your well-being, and general information about yourself (e.g., age, gender).
    3. Click here for more information