Child Lab
Bangor University
We conduct infant and child development research that helps improve early social and educational outcomes and wellbeing.
Our research spans language development, literacy, and social cognition, and uses a combination of behavioural assessment, neuroimaging, and computational modelling.
We work in close collaboration with NHS Wales and the Welsh Government.
Our core research streams
Professor Manon Wyn Jones uses eye-tracking and neuroimaging to study bilingualism and dyslexia in children.
Professor Kami Koldewyn uses behavioural assessment and neuroimaging to study social cognition and autism.
Dr. Samuel Jones uses computational modelling to understand auditory processing and language and cognitive development.
Selected recent publications
Downing, C., Evans-Jones, G., Calabrich, S. L., Wynne, C., Cartin, R., Dunton, J., ... & Jones, M. (2024). Literacy instruction from afar: evidence for the effectiveness of a remotely delivered language-rich reading programme. Reading and Writing, 1-15. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11145-023-10502-7
Jones, S. D., Jones, M., Koldewyn, K., & Westermann, G. (2024). Rational inattention: A new theory of neurodivergent information seeking. Developmental Science, e13492. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13492
Jones, S. D., Stewart, H. J., & Westermann, G. (2024). A maturational frequency discrimination deficit may explain developmental language disorder. Psychological Review, 131(3), 695–715. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000436
Walbrin, J., Almeida, J., & Koldewyn, K. (2023). Alternative brain connectivity underscores age-related differences in the processing of interactive biological motion. Journal of Neuroscience, 43(20), 3666-3674. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2109-22.2023
Our impact
Impact in focus: The RILL project
RILL (research on the instruction of literacy with language) is a short, evidence-based language and literacy programme for Key Stage 2 children learning one-to-one or in small groups. Launched by Prof. Manon Wyn Jones in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting national school closures, RILL is delivered digitally - either remotely in the child's home, or in the classroom. To date, over 1000 children have taken part in the programme across two large-scale randomised controlled trials, in both English (90 schools, 200 teachers trained) and Welsh (93 schools, 200 teachers trained). The RILL team comprises researchers at the Miles Dyslexia Centre, Bangor University, Leeds Trinity University, and the University of Oxford. The team's mission is to ensure that children across the UK - particularly those who struggle to read - receive the best possible targeted intervention and regain and improve their literacy and language skills. You can find out more about the RILL project here.
Impact in focus: The Welsh-English CDI
The Bangor University Welsh-English bilingual communicative development inventory (BU WEB-CDI) is a questionnaire that caregivers can fill in to tell us about a child’s language and communicative development. Led By Prof. Debbie Mills, the Bangor University WEB-CDI was developed expressly to meet a local need for suitable early years bilingual language assessment tools, and in response to a number of Welsh Government agendas (e.g., Talk with me: Speech language and communication delivery plan). A recent report commissioned by the Welsh Government identified the WEB-CDI as one of only two tools currently suitable for screening early language development in Welsh-English speaking children. The second tool identified, the UK Bilingual Toddlers Assessment Tool (UKBTAT), uses Bangor University WEB-CDI data. You can find out more about the BU WEB-CDI here.
Visit us
The Department of Psychology at Bangor University houses high-spec eye-tracking, audiology, EEG, TMS, fNIRS and fMRI research facilities, as well as supercomputing resources.
To learn more about the work we do, please contact: childlab@bangor.ac.uk.
Click here to learn more about studying developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience at Bangor University.
Tir na n-Og: Daycare and Child Research Centre
Tir na n-Og was established in 1990 as a childcare and child research facility by the Department of Psychology at Bangor University, and has been offering exceptionally high standards of childcare and education for over 30 years.
Tir na n-Og provides a safe, happy and stimulating environment for infants and children from three months to four years of age to be free to explore, learn, and play whilst in the hands of experienced, qualified and enthusiastic staff.
Research conducted at Tir na n-Og has generated more than 30 peer-reviewed publications in child development, health, and behavioural journals, and has been presented at more than 100 national and international conferences.
To find out more click here.
Our funders and partners