Cited by 818Phonetics and Phonology ResearchLanguage Development and DisordersNeuroscience and Music Perception

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 24 of the 25 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Acoustic determinants of infant preference for motherese speech

Open access

Fernald, Anne, Kuhl, Patricia·1987·Infant Behavior and Development

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Three experiments investigated possible acoustic determinants of the infant listening preference for motherese speech found by Fernald 1985. To test the hypothesis that the intonation of motherese speech was sufficient to elicit this preference, it was necessary to eliminate lexical content and to isolate the three major acoustic correlates of intonation: (1) fundamental frequency (Fo), or pitch; (2) amplitude, correlated with loudness; and (3) duration, related to speech rhythm. Three sets of auditory reinforcers were computer-synthesized, derived from the Fo (Experiment 1), amplitude (Experiment 2), and duration (Experiment 3) characteristics of the infant- and adult-directed natural speech samples used by Fernald 1985. Thus, each of these experiments focused on particular prosodic variables in the absence of segmental variation. Twenty 4-month-old infants were tested in an operant auditory preference procedure in each experiment. Infants showed a significant preference for the Fo-patterns of motherese speech, but not for the amplitude or duration patterns of motherese.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/0163-6383(87)90017-8

Cites

24 of 24 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology
Zeanah, C. H. (1986) · Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0002-7138(10)60025-8 · Cited by 2,810
The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology
Stern, D. N. (2019) · Cited by 2,490
Vocal affect expression: A review and a model for future research.
Scherer, K. R. (1986) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.99.2.143 · Cited by 1,826
Talking to children: language input and acquisition. Edited by Catherine E. Snow and Charles A. Ferguson. Cambridge: University Press, 1977. Pp. x, 369. $16.95.
Farwell, C. B. (1979) · Language · doi:10.2307/412603 · Cited by 1,590
Four-month-old infants prefer to listen to motherese
Fernald, A. (1985) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/s0163-6383(85)80005-9 · Cited by 1,015
Self-citation
Expanded intonation contours in mothers’ speech to newborns
Fernald, A., & Simon, T. (1984) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/0012-1649.20.1.104 · Cited by 773
Self-citation
Baby Talk in Six Languages
FERGUSON, C. A. (1964) · American Anthropologist · doi:10.1525/aa.1964.66.suppl_3.02a00060 · Cited by 522
A re-determination of the equal-loudness relations for pure tones
Robinson, D. W., & Dadson, R. S. (1956) · British Journal of Applied Physics · doi:10.1088/0508-3443/7/5/302 · Cited by 486
Mother and infant at play: The dyadic interaction involving facial, vocal, and gaze behaviors.
Stern, D. N. (1974) · Cited by 438
The prosody of maternal speech: infant age and context related changes
Stern, D. N., Spieker, S. J., Barnett, R. K., & MacKain, K. S. (1983) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000900005092 · Cited by 393

Show all 25 references

Research works printed but not linked: 1

Aslin, 1983, Auditory development and speech perception in infancy, Vol. 2

Sorted by citations

Items 701–800 of 818

The Effect of Hearing Impairment on Word Processing of Infant- and Adult-Directed Speech
Robertson, V. S. (2014) · doi:10.21007/etd.cghs.2014.0262
The effects of child-directed speech vs adult-directed speech on attention and categorization in prelinguistic infants
Schumacher, J. M. (1993) · DigitalCommons@UNO
Nonnative Prosody and the Intelligibility of Ambiguous Utterances
Schoener, R. S. (2015) · Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University)
References
Blevins, J. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486357.013
Sobre a escolha do sujeito autista: voz e autismo About the choice of the autistic subject: voice and autism
Catão, I., & Vivès, J.-M. (2011)
The Relationship Between Infant-Directed Prosody and Indices of Lexical Acquisition at 15 Months of Age
Gilbride, K. (2002)
The development of vocal imitation
Masataka, N. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511489754.004
Applied to Human Centered Interaction Analysis
Chétouani, M., Mahdhaoui, A., & Ringeval, F. (2009)
A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive Science and Linguistics
Mansfield, T. C., Barker, C., Elman, J. L., Hubbard, K. A., Padden, C. A., & Savitch, W. J. (1997)
Attributes of Multimodal Syllables
Lewkowicz, J. (2000)
Some uncommon sound patterns
Blevins, J. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486357.009
In press, Infant Behavior and Development , 2000 Schematic Pitch Coding: A New, More Efficient Method for Measurement of Infant-Directed Speech
Katz, G. S., Cohn, J. F., & Moore, C. A. (2000)
An early interaction music therapy model
Lipponen, A. (2014) · Jyväskylä University Digital Archive (University of Jyväskylä)
The effect of spectral tilt on infants' speech perception : implications for infants with hearing loss
Beach, E. F. (2009) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Beröringens roll för barns språkutveckling
Tahbaz, S. (2016) · KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
Development of phonologicall y speciied word forms
Mulak, K. E. (2012)
From babbling to speaking
Masataka, N. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511489754.008
Earliest language development in sign language
Masataka, N. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511489754.007
Place features
Blevins, J. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486357.006
The integration of prosody and gesture in early intentional communication
Esteve‐Gibert, N. (2014) · Repositori digital de la UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
The role of human ostensive-communicative and referential cues on the social learning of human infants and dogs
Kupán, K. (2014) · Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem · doi:10.15476/elte.2013.001
Evolution in language and elsewhere
Blevins, J. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486357.003
Introduction
Masataka, N. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511489754.001
Other common sound patterns
Blevins, J. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486357.007
The development of the ability to take turns
Masataka, N. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511489754.002
Early Maternal Word-Learning Cues to Children with and without Cochlear Implants
Lund, E. (2013)
Children's Competence with Listener Dependent Prosodic Modifications
Varghese, A. L. (2016) · UWSpace (University of Waterloo)
Adults' and infants' perception of infant-directed speech and song.
Falk, S., & Tsang, C. D. (2015) · ICPhS
Qualidades Sonoras de Expressões Vocais de Crianças com Autismo em uma Oficina Terapêutica de Música
Avila, D. C. (2018) · Editora Blucher eBooks · doi:10.5151/9788580393101-05
Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation
Obaidi, M. (2013)
Vowel production in infant-directed speech : an assessment of hyperarticulation and distributional learning
Starling, G. (2019) · ERA
La sensibilité des nourrissons aux signes-traces gestuels et prosodiques de la communication adulte
Molina, M., Martel, K., Sann, C., & Jouen, F. (2017) · CNRS Éditions eBooks · doi:10.4000/books.editionscnrs.29899
Are you hearing or listening? The effect of task performance in verbal behavior with smart speaker
Park, C., Choi, J., Sung, J. E., & Lim, Y. (2019) · IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) · doi:10.1109/iros40897.2019.8967930
The role of children, social partners and objects triad in children's environment and learning
Loucaides, M. (2020) · Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) · doi:10.17635/lancaster/thesis/866
Infant Physical Growth
Lampl, M. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108351959.002
Infant Physical Knowledge
Hespos, S. J., & Anderson, E. M. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108351959.013
Behavioral and neural indices of auditory temporal processing in children with autism spectrum disorders
Foss‐Feig, J. H. (2013)
Dual Language Exposure and Early Learning
Brito, N. H. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108351959.024
Infant Speech Perception
Reh, R. K., & Werker, J. F. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108351959.021
Development During Infancy in Children Later Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Falck‐Ytter, T., & Jones, E. J. H. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108351959.005
Dynamic Epigenetic Impact of the Environment on the Developing Brain
Champagne, F. A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108351959.003
Summary and conclusion
Masataka, N. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511489754.009
Infants’ Sensitivity to Lexical Tone and Word Stress in Their First Year: A Thai and English Cross-Language Study
Kalashnikova, M., Onsuwan, C., & Burnham, D. K. (2021) · Language Learning and Development · doi:10.1080/15475441.2021.1954928
O APAGAMENTO DE SÍLABAS ÁTONAS NA FALA DE UM SUJEITO DISÁRTRICO: INTERVENÇÃO POR MEIO DE MÚSICA
Portela, L. (2018) · Repositório Digital de Teses e Dissertações do PPGLin-UESB · doi:10.54221/rdtdppglinuesb.2018.v6i1.147
O PAPEL DA CHILD-DIRECTED SPEECH NO DESENVOLVIMENTO FONOLÓGICO DE CRIANÇAS GÊMEAS E NÃO GÊMEAS: O TRIÂNGULO VOCÁLICO E A EMERGÊNCIA DE TEMPLATES
Ferreira, G. D. D. P. (2018) · Repositório Digital de Teses e Dissertações do PPGLin-UESB · doi:10.54221/rdtdppglinuesb.2018.v6i1.137
Possible Characteristics of Baby-Sitting Behavior of Japanese Women Who Have Grown Up as Only Children.
Ikeda, Y., & Masataka, N. (1997)
Bibliography
(2004) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-012473070-0/50018-9
Diachronic phonology
Blevins, J. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486357.011
Laryngeal features
Blevins, J. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486357.005
Preface
Lockman, J. J., & Tamis‐LeMonda, C. S. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108351959.031
References
(2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511489754.010
Preface
Blevins, J. (2004) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511486357.001
References
(1996) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1111/b.9780631203124.1996.refs
REFERENCES
(1994) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/j.1540-5834.1994.tb00184.x
The Cognitive Foundations of Early Childhood Numeracy
Mix, K. S. (2022) · Advances in early childhood and K-12 education · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-8649-5.ch014
MULTIAGENT MODEL OF PERCEPTUAL SPACE FORMATION IN THE PROCESS OF MASTERING LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
В., Н. З., Gurtueva, I. A., & Bzhikhatlov, K. C. (2020) · News of the Kabardin-Balkar Scientific Center of RAS · doi:10.35330/1991-6639-2020-3-95-13-22
Index
Lockman, J. J., & Tamis‐LeMonda, C. S. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108351959.030
Au commencement était la voix
(2005) · Érès eBooks · doi:10.3917/eres.konop.2005.01.0237
Language Development in Infants with Hearing Loss: Benefits of Infant-Directed SpeechPreprint
Lovčević, I., Burnham, D. K., & Kalashnikova, M. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/59g3x
Learning to Recognize Others: The Effect of Vocal Emotions
Beaucousin, V. (2022) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781394150458.ch7
Parent-infant psychoanalytic psychotherapy when child development is at risk: process assessment
Cortezia, F. S., & Donelli, T. M. S. (2022) · Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy · doi:10.1080/02668734.2022.2130409
Infant-directed speech in Brazilian Portuguese: The prosody of questions
Name, C., & Sosa, J. M. (2022) · DELTA Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada · doi:10.1590/1678-460x202258879
O papel da child-directed speech no desenvolvimento fonológico: o triângulo vocálico (The role of child-directed speech in the phonological development: the vocal triangle)
Pacheco, V., Ferreira, G. P. G., Baia, M. D. F. D. A., & Alves, M. M. (2023) · Estudos da língua(gem) · doi:10.22481/el.v21i1.13372
Le bébé qui nous fait parler
Parlato-Oliveira, É. (2023) · Spirale · doi:10.3917/spi.105.0135
How Does the Modulating Caregiver Impact a Child’s Regulation?
Thomson-Link, S. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-40320-0_6
Prenatal and Postnatal Development of Musical Behaviors and Their Role in Infancy
Partanen, E., Virtala, P., & Kostilainen, K. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190927523.013.10
Relationship between parental care and vocalization in songbirds
Tachibana, R. O. (2023) · Japanese Journal of Animal Psychology · doi:10.2502/janip.73.2.8
References
(2013) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781394260171.refs
Language I: Sounds, Words, and Meanings
Weisberg, R. W., & Reeves, L. M. (2013) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781394260171.ch9
References
Vihman, M. M. (2014) · doi:10.1002/9781394260997.refs
Langage et communication dans les troubles du spectre de l’autisme
da Silva-Genest, C., Fage, C., Jullien, S., Normand, M. L., Bénain, A.-L., Martel, K., Masson, C., da Silva-Genest, C., Masson, C., & Maillart, C. (2024) · doi:10.62688/edul/b9782384510696
Signes précoces et troubles du spectre de l’autisme. Apport des analyses des interactions précoces, réflexions autour de la modalité vocale
Martel, K. (2024) · doi:10.62688/edul/b9782384510696/03
Soundscapes of infant care and infant-directed communication in two hunter-gatherer societies
Lewis, J., Lewis, I., & Franco, F. (2021) · Hunter Gatherer Research · doi:10.3828/hgr.2024.2
Atipikus beszélők beszédének megértése és megítélése kisiskolás korban
Bodnár, N. (2023) · Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem · doi:10.15476/elte.2023.261
Motorik- und Sensorikentwicklung
Lohaus, A., Vierhaus, M., & Lemola, S. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-69370-4_7
Creating a sonic experience for infants
Tse, N. A. (2021) · doi:10.32658/10497/23220
Effects of speaking style and semantic predictability on vowel production
Song, Y., & Clopper, C. G. (2024) · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · doi:10.1121/10.0034446
Due to increased variability, the expanded vowel and tone space in Mandarin IDS does not lead to enhanced contrasts
Tang, P., Rattanasone, N. X., Yuen, I., Demuth, K., & Benders, T. (2025) · Journal of Child Language · doi:10.1017/s0305000925000133
Sympathische synthetische Stimmen: Herausforderungen und Nutzen für die Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion
Zülli, F. (2025) · Zeitschrift für Germanistische Linguistik · doi:10.1515/zgl-2025-2002
The Acoustic Properties of Vowels in Foreigner-Directed Speech: Insights from Speech Directed at Foreign Domestic Helpers
Al-Kendi, A. (2025) · Languages · doi:10.3390/languages10040082
Conversation Initiation in Families With a Toddler Who Is Deaf or Hard of Hearing
VanDam, M., Brock, A. S., Bass-Ringdahl, S. M., Thompson, L., Wilson-Fowler, E. B., Jenson, D. E., McCaslin, C., Johnson, K. T., & Palma, P. D. (2025) · American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology · doi:10.1044/2025_ajslp-24-00254
Development of Auditory and Spontaneous Movement Responses to Music over the First Postnatal YearPreprint
Nguyen, T., Bigand, F., Reisner, S., Koul, A., Bianco, R., Marková, G., Hoehl, S., & Novembre, G. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.05.04.649695 · Cited by 1
Composers’ Perspective on Creating Music for Infants and Toddlers: A Thematic Analysis
Laure, M., Simonič, T. M., & Habe, K. (2025) · International Journal of Early Childhood · doi:10.1007/s13158-025-00429-1
From cradle to classroom: Infant-directed speech facilitates word learning in adults learning English as a foreign language
Zhu, M., Chen, F., Dong, L., & Yang, Y. (2025) · Learning and Instruction · doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102183
Verbal Episodic Processing in Newborns
Visibelli, E., Fló, A., Baraldi, E., & Benavides‐Varela, S. (2026) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.109096.3
“Es una pelota, do you like the ball?”: Pitch in Spanish-English bilingual infant directed speech
Barajas, A. R., Cohn, M., Zellou, G., & Estes, K. G. (2025) · Language Learning and Development · doi:10.1080/15475441.2025.2575381
Does nonsense make sense? A springboard to studying dynamic reconfiguration of large-scale networks during semantic and intonation speech processing
Anurova, I., Cieśla, K., & Amedi, A. (2025) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121638
Ongoing Development of Online Tone and Intonation Recognition in Mandarin During Late Childhood
Xie, X., Yang, S., Zhang, Y., Dong, Q., & Nan, Y. (2025) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2025_jslhr-24-00922
Studying speech sound discrimination in dogs.
Athanasiadou, P. (2012) · Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University)
The Role of Music-Specific Representations When Processing Speech: Using a Musical Illusion to Elucidate Domain-Specific and -General Processes
der Nederlanden, C. M. V. B. (2020) · Digital Scholarship - UNLV (University of Nevada Reno) · doi:10.34917/5363952
Verbal Episodic Processing in NewbornsPreprint
Visibelli, E., Fló, A., Baraldi, E., & Benavides-Varela, S. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.109096.1
Word Identification in School-Aged Children: Effects of Pitch Contour, Word Position, and Musicianship
Firdose, H., Nie, Y., André, V. A., & Whitney, V. (2026) · Ear and Hearing · doi:10.1097/aud.0000000000001788
Investigation of Pitch and Tone Preference of Preschool Children in Mandarin
Yin, M., Zhang, S., Zhu, H., Huang, J., Ge, S., & Li, B. (2026) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs16030460
De l'intimité à la complicité : la chanson-action comme organisateur de l'attention chez le bébé de trois à six mois.
Delavenne, A. (2011) · doi:10.70675/1090e280zd137z4a59zbe86z6b860d7e73be
Moving towards the understanding of dynamic human face processing
Richoz, A.-R. (2018) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/876de865z5362z4220zbc20z45599a0f5ecd
L’engagement social chez le bébé de 4-5 mois en situation de dialogue avec des partenaires familiers et étrangers : vers une approche intégrative
Infanti, R. B. (2017) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/8ce82986z3032z45c6z81b9z0e18fbcc3ed2
La participation active d'un enfant avec autisme SDI d'âge préscolaire : du milieu familial aux milieux éducatif et rééducatif
Wagner, A. M. (2016) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/be4aab4ezf42az4da4zbeedz90dfcc5a3d94
Phonological Choices Drive F0 Range Expansion and Lengthening in Bengali and English Infant-Directed Speech
Yu, K. M., Khan, S. U. D., & Sundara, M. (2026) · Languages · doi:10.3390/languages11040068
La voix maternelle et paternelle adressée au bébé prématuré en unité de soins intensifs néonatals
Saliba, S. (2019) · doi:10.70675/2ba1e74dz96e4z4c02zb9e6zceb4f671ff79
Cultural evolution of birdsong in the laboratory
Maguer, L. L. (2019) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/2c911cefz77edz4578z8591zada3f07ef205

Authors: Fernald, A., & Kuhl, P.
Affiliations: Stanford University (US)
University of Washington (US)
Corresponding author: Fernald, Anne
ORCID: Fernald, Anne
Kuhl, Patricia
Venue: Infant Behavior and Development
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 1987-07
Volume: 10
Issue: 3
Pages: 279-293
ISSN: 0163-6383 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/0163-6383(87)90017-8
OpenAlex: W2039948074
Cited by: 818
References: 25
Citations by year: 2026: 16 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 38 · 2012: 29
FWCI: 11.18
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: hybrid
doi.org
Licence: cc-by-nc-nd
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
www.elsevier.com/legal/tdmrep-license (tdm)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (vor, 6520 d)
Locations: Infant Behavior and Development (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders: National Science Foundation (79-16559, 81-03581)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Phonetics and Phonology Research
Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
Keywords: intonation, fundamental frequency, pitch, amplitude, loudness, speech duration, prosody, synthetic speech, infant-directed speech, auditory preference, 4-month-old infants

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Acoustic determinants of infant preference for motherese speech

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks