Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
Preference for infant-directed singing in 2-day-old hearing infants of deaf parents
1Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan. masataka@smtp.pri.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
L. J. Trainor (1996) reported preferences for infant-directed versus infant-absent singing in English in 4-7-month-old hearing infants of English-speaking hearing parents. In this experiment, the author tested preferences for infant-directed singing versus adult-directed singing in 15 two-day-old hearing infants of deaf parents for a Japanese and an English play song. Using a modified visual-fixation-based auditory-preference procedure, the author found that infants looked longer at a visual stimulus when looking produced infant-directed singing as opposed to adult-directed singing. These results suggest that infants prefer infant-directed singing over adult-directed singing and that the preference is present from birth and is not dependent on any specific prenatal or postnatal experience.
Related Concept Videos
Hearing
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...

