Thank you for being here!

The team at your daycare may have already told you about our study and given you our information materials.
Below you will find more information about our study 
'Development and plasticity of multimodal communication during social behaviour in human children' by Wytse Wilhelm.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Wytse Wilhelm for questions in English or Ursula Münster for questions in German.

This project investigates individual flexibility and differences in early human communicative behaviour, focusing on the role of gestural and vocal communication in the coordination of social actions. We will use an integrated multimodal approach to assess differences between individuals, age groups and cultural backgrounds. Social interactions will be recorded in day-care centres in Germany and in BaYaka Mbendjele villages in Congo Brazzaville, with focal children between the ages of 1.5 and 2 years or 3 and 4 years. By providing new insights into the communicative plasticity of human children, we aim to better understand the influence of socio-environmental factors on the development of multimodal communication in human children. In later stages of the project, comparisons with several great ape species will provide a better understanding of the evolutionary trajectory of hominin behaviour and communication.

This research is part of Wytse Wilhelm's PhD project funded by a Freigeist Fellowship (VW Foundation) awarded to Dr. Marlen Fröhlich.Development and plasticity of multimodal communication during social actions in human children