DeCasper and Fifer (1980) provided evidence that babies recognize their mothers' voices shortly after birth. Using a nonnutritive nipple attached to a sensing apparatus, DeCasper and Fifer showed that newborns would suck more to hear a tape of their mother's voice compared to a tape of a stranger's voice. Because they were newborns, they must have become familiar with the mother's voice while still in the womb. In a follow-up study, DeCasper and Spence had 16 pregnant mothers read a three minute long passage from the Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat to their fetuses twice a day for the last 6.5 weeks of pregnancy. The mothers were also recorded reading three minute excerpts from two other stories. By the time the babies were born, the researchers calculated, they had heard The Cat in the Hat for about 5 hours. DeCasper and Spence used their sucking test again. The babies sucked more to hear The Cat in the Hat, regardless of whether it was in their mother's voice or another woman's voice if that was the story they heard in the womb (Kolata, 1984). After learning about DeCasper's The Cat and the Hat study, what do you think the findings suggest? What the research findings imply. Think beyond auditory development and apply the findings to other areas, such as brain development and memory.
DeCasper and Fifer (1980) provided evidence that babies recognize their mothers' voices shortly after birth. Using a nonnutritive nipple attached to a sensing apparatus, DeCasper and Fifer showed that newborns would suck more to hear a tape of their mother's voice compared to a tape of a stranger's voice. Because they were newborns, they must have become familiar with the mother's voice while still in the womb.
In a follow-up study, DeCasper and Spence had 16 pregnant mothers read a three minute long passage from the Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat to their fetuses twice a day for the last 6.5 weeks of pregnancy. The mothers were also recorded reading three minute excerpts from two other stories.
By the time the babies were born, the researchers calculated, they had heard The Cat in the Hat for about 5 hours. DeCasper and Spence used their sucking test again. The babies sucked more to hear The Cat in the Hat, regardless of whether it was in their mother's voice or another woman's voice if that was the story they heard in the womb (Kolata, 1984).
After learning about DeCasper's The Cat and the Hat study, what do you think the findings suggest? What the research findings imply. Think beyond auditory development and apply the findings to other areas, such as brain development and memory.
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