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Quality of adult vocalizations affects the quality of infant vocalizations*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Kathleen Bloom
Kathleen Bloom*
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo
*
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaN2L 3G1
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Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the VERBAL component of babytalk affected the vocal quality of infants. Two groups of 20 0;3 infants experienced either conversational turn taking or random responsiveness of an adult. Adult responsiveness consisted of a smile, light touch to the abdomen, and a NONVERBAL ‘tsk, tsk, tsk’ sound (instead of speech). All infant vocalizations were counted and then coded as ‘syllabic’ or ‘vocalic’ sounds. The results of the study demonstrated that TURN TAKING facilitated a speak-listen pattern of vocalizing by the infant, but in the absence of the VERBAL component of the adult's response, turn taking had no special facilitative effect on syllabic sounds. It was concluded that what adults say to 3-month-old infants influences what infants ‘say’ in return. Possible mechanisms underlying the infant's vocal response to verbal input were reviewed. It was suggested that the more mature sounds (syllabic) may proportionally increase as a result of the combined effects of turn-taking and verbal stimulation on the motor control of respiration and phonation.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , October 1988 , pp. 469 - 480
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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Footnotes

*

Appreciation is expressed to Catherine Snow for suggesting the study, to Laura D'Odorico and Gabriele di Stefano for their comments concerning the manuscript, and particularly to Lois Bloom for her generous and invaluable conceptual contributions to all phases of the research programme. Susan Davis, Elsa Lo, and Ann Russell provided technical assistance. Special thanks are extended to the parents and infants who participated in this study and to the staff of the Grace Maternity Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia, who helped with the recruitment of participants. This research was made possible by a research grant (410-85-0227) and a Leave Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and with the kind sabbatical support of the Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Universita degli Studi di Padova, where the manuscript was written.

References

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