Abstract
The pitch patterns present in speech addressed to infants may play an important role in perceptual processing by infants. In this study, the high-amplitude sucking procedure was used to assess discrimination by 2- to 3-month-old infants of rising versus falling pitch patterns in 400-msec synthetic [ra] and [la] tokens. The syllables’ intonation contour was modeled on infant-directed speech, and covered a range characteristic of an adult female speaker (180–300 Hz). Group data indicated that the 2- to 3-month-old infants discriminated the pitch contour for both stimuli. Results are discussed with reference to previous studies of syllabic pitch perception.
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This work was supported in part by Grant NS03856 from the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke to the Central Institute for the Deaf.
The nursery staff and administration of St. John’s Mercy Medical Center were especially helpful throughout the course of the study.
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Karzon, R.G., Nicholas, J.G. Syllabic pitch perception in 2- to 3-month-old infants. Perception & Psychophysics 45, 10–14 (1989). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208026
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208026