AIRS 3rd Annual Conference – St. John’s, Newfoundland
Title: Sing to Me Please, Put Me at Ease: Infants' Responses to Infant-Directed Singing and
Speaking
Authors: Patricia A. Brosha (St. Francis Xavier University), Petra Hauf (St. Francis Xavier
University)
Presentation format: Poster
Sub-themes: Development 1.2 - Comparison of Singing and Speaking
Introduction
Previous research suggests that infant-directed singing may be effective for sustaining attention
and regulating arousal, while infant-directed speaking may be linked to recruiting attention and
efficient learning (Nakata & Trehub, 2004). The present study investigated 17 6-month-old
infants’ responses to infant-directed singing and speaking form responses to infant-directed
singing and speaking from a standardized, non-maternal source to compare these styles of
infant-directed communication.
Method
Using eye-tracking technology and video recording, infants’ looking behavior and motor
behavior were captured in detail as they watched audiovisual displays of an adult engaging in
singing and speaking of a familiar and a novel text.
 
Results
Findings showed that overall looking time was significantly longer for episodes of infant
directed singing than comparable episodes of infant-directed speaking, which may signal
intense engagement. Furthermore, overall looking time was longer for episodes containing a
novel text compared to episodes of a familiar text. For specific areas of interest, infants
displayed a preference for the mouth region over the eye region regardless of vocal style or text
familiarity, possibly reflecting an increasing interest in language. There was no significant
difference in infant movement for vocal style or text familiarity.
 
Discussion
Current findings lend further support to the growing body of knowledge on infant-directed
communication, and may have implications for infant learning and adult-infant interaction.
Infant directed singing may promote emotional engagement, while infant-directed speaking may
facilitate information processing.

  
Bios
Tricia Brosha recently completed her undergraduate degree this spring at St. Francis Xavier
University. She did her Honours in Developmental Psychology, where her thesis research
investigated infants' attentional and behavioral responses to infant-directed singing and
speaking, under the supervision of Dr. Petra Hauf, Canada Research Chair. Tricia began her
research with AIRS in the summer of 2010 as a summer research assistant in the
developmental laboratory of Dr. Hauf, where her primary work focused on the development of
an AIRS study using eye-tracking technology with 6-month-old infants. Tricia hopes to attend
graduate school in the future, focusing in the fields of early childhood development or clinical
child psychology.
Dr. Petra Hauf is a professor of psychology at StFX and a Canada Research Chair in Culture
and Human Development. She is a researcher in infant cognitive development focusing on the
link between perception and production in cognitive development. She received her doctoral
degree from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, and previously worked as a
senior research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in
Munich, Germany. Prior to coming to Canada, she was an assistant professor of psychology at
the University of Frankfurt. Dr. Hauf currently collaborates with numerous research scientists
who work at high profile universities and research institutes in North America and Europe.
These collaborations include work with Claes von Hofsten at the University of Oslo, Norway,
Martin Giese at the University of Tuebingen and Birgit Elsner at Potsdam University in
Germany, as well as Renee Baillargeon at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and
Nick Stergiou at UNO, Omaha, USA. In Canada, she works together with Chris Moore at
Dalhousie University and Diane Poulin-Dubois at Concordia.