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Infants’ memory for musical performances
Author(s) -
Volkova Anna,
Trehub Sandra E.,
Schellenberg E. Glenn
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2006.00536.x
Subject(s) - psychology , preference , musical , developmental psychology , audiology , cognitive psychology , communication , visual arts , art , medicine , economics , microeconomics
We evaluated 6‐ and 7‐month‐olds’ preference and memory for expressive recordings of sung lullabies. In Experiment 1, both age groups preferred lower‐pitched to higher‐pitched renditions of unfamiliar lullabies. In Experiment 2, infants were tested after 2 weeks of daily exposure to a lullaby at one pitch level. Seven‐month‐olds listened significantly longer to the lullaby at a novel pitch level than at the original pitch level. Six‐month‐olds showed no preference but their low‐pitch preference was eliminated. We conclude that infants’ memory for musical performances is enhanced by the ecological validity of the materials. Moreover, infants’ pitch preferences are influenced by their previous exposure and by the nature of the music.