Exploratory dynamics of vocal foraging during infant-caregiver communication.

ABSTRACT: We investigated the hypothesis that infants search in an acoustic space for vocalisations that elicit adult utterances and vice versa, inspired by research on animal and human foraging. Infant-worn recorders were used to collect day-long audio recordings, and infant speech-related and adult vocalisation onsets and offsets were automatically identified. We examined vocalisation-to-vocalisation steps, focusing on inter-vocalisation time intervals and distances in an acoustic space defined by mean pitch and mean amplitude, measured from the child's perspective. Infant inter-vocalisation intervals were shorter immediately following a vocal response from an adult. Adult intervals were shorter following an infant response and adult inter-vocalisation pitch differences were smaller following the

SUBMITTER: Ritwika VPS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7319970 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature