AIRS 4th Annual Meeting: 2012

Title: Regulating Infants' Emotions through Maternal Singing and Speech
Authors: Niusha Ghazban (Ryerson University), Frank Russo (Ryerson University), Sandra
Trehub (University of Toronto), Natalie Ein (Ryerson University), Sabrina Aimola (Ryerson
University), Jean Paul Boudreau (Ryerson University)

Abstract

Background: The interaction between a mother and her infant has been described as an intricate
‘dance’ involving coordinated singing and movement. It is widely accepted that infant-directed
(ID) speech, or motherese, is an effective means of communicating with infants and holding
their attention. Infants similarly show a preference and respond to ID singing (Trainor, 1996). ID
singing is a universally observed caregiving behaviour used by mothers to change and
accommodate their infants’ emotional state (de l’Etoile, 2006; Trehub & Nakata, 2003). While
both ID speech and singing appear to be equally successful in modulating infants’ attention and
arousal (Nakata & Trehub, 2004), the consequences of maternal speech and singing to regulate
stress are less clear. The current study examined infants’ behavioural and physiological
responses to their mothers’ singing and speech following an acute stressor induced by mother’s
still-neutral face.
Method: Forty-two, 10-month-old infants participated in this study. Using the Face-to-Face/StillFace (FFSF) procedure (Tronick et al., 1978), the mothers and infants engaged in a three stage
interaction: 1) Face-to Face playtime; 2) Mother’s display of neutral still-face; and 3) the Reunion
phase. The Reunion phase was controlled such that mothers re-engaged with their infants by
either singing or speaking. Infants were subjected to three repetitions each of singing and
speech for a total of six trials over a 30-minute session. Behavioural responses such as visual
fixation, motoric activity and emotional valence were coded. Skin conductance levels were
monitored via a sensor attached to the infants’ right foot.
Results: Behavioural analyses revealed greater visual fixation on the mother during maternal
singing (M = 11.50sec) than in maternal speech (M = 5.77sec), F (1,18) = 18.59, p<.001. During
visual fixations on the mother, infants demonstrated significantly more “frozen” motoric
activity during maternal singing (M = 7.02sec) than during maternal speech (M = 1.72sec), F
(1,18) = 17.55, p<.01. Although the induction of stress as measured by skin conductance was
comparable in singing and speaking conditions, F (1,8) = 1.08, p>.05, skin conductance level

 during the Reunion phase was lower during maternal singing (M=.160μΩ) than during
maternal speech (M= .926μΩ])., F(4,60) = 2.87, p<.05.
Conclusion: This is the first study to directly examine the effects of maternal vocalizations in
regulating infants’ stress, and our findings indicate that maternal singing provides a form of
“homeostasis” in regulating infants’ stress more effectively than speech. The pronounced
reduction in motoric activity while visually fixated on the mother during the singing condition
is reflective of infants’ sustained attention as well as the relaxing outcomes of maternal singing,
an observation consistent with Nakata & Trehub (2004). Ultimately these findings demonstrate
the astounding effects of maternal singing and shed new light into the perplexing issues with
socio-emotional development.