ERIC Number: EJ850179
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Jan
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-755X
EISSN: N/A
Preference for Consonance over Dissonance by Hearing Newborns of Deaf Parents and of Hearing Parents
Masataka, Nobuo
Developmental Science, v9 n1 p46-50 Jan 2006
Behavioral preferences for consonance over dissonance were tested in hearing infants of deaf parents and in hearing infants of hearing parents when they were 2 days old. Using a modified visual-fixation-based, auditory-preference procedure, I found that both 2-day-old infants of deaf parents and those of hearing parents looked longer at a visual stimulus when looking produced the original version of a Mozart minuet as opposed to a version altered to contain many dissonant intervals. The relative magnitude of such preference did not significantly differ whether their parents were deaf or hearing. Infants prefer consonance over dissonance, and the preference is present from birth and is not dependent on any specific prenatal or early postnatal experience.
Descriptors: Intervals, Deafness, Neonates, Auditory Perception, Psychological Patterns, Parents, Hearing (Physiology), Auditory Tests, Stimuli, Prenatal Influences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A