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January 2005
Infants and Young Children are more stimulated by Sound than
Visuals
Research provides strong evidence that infants and young
children – unlike adults -- are more stimulated by sound than
visuals in their surroundings. In a study, researchers observed
the reactions of young children to sounds and pictures. When
subjects were presented with both stimuli simultaneously, the
children couldn’t do it. The sounds absorbed their attention.
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Methods
Investigators conducted experiments on 8-, 12-, and 16-month
children as well as 4 year olds and adults. There were 11
individuals evaluated.
Results
Findings of the study indicate that during infancy sounds take
precedence over visuals. This dominance gradually erodes through
early childhood with visuals taking greater prominence.
In the trial with the 8-month old, the child was videotaped
while viewing a group of sounds and pictures on a display. They
were presented combinations of sound and picture several times
to get them acquainted with each grouping. When investigators
reviewed the recording they noticed that as children became
familiarized with a picture they looked at it considerably less.
However, they continued to react to the familiar sounds. In
addition children tended to look longer at pictures when they
were paired sounds, old or new. For infants, sounds are
preferred almost exclusively.
Older children tested at 4 years of age generally preferred
sounds over visuals, with the exception of familiar objects –
they paid more attention to a familiar visual when it is paired
with an unknown sound.
In the experiments conducted on adults, the subjects displayed
an equal capacity to process both images and sounds alone or
together, but preferred visuals.
Conclusion
Investigators concluded that the findings of the research
indicate that children appear to have the ability to process
only one stimulus at a time, with sound taking preference. The
type of picture did not determine the level of attention
children placed on a visual, rather it was their familiarity.
Researchers stated that of all the groups they studied infants
were most likely to prefer sounds over visuals. They attributed
this to sounds’ temporary nature. Infants and young children
tend to respond to elements in impermanence, like language
during early childhood. Authors concluded that the response to
sound in very young children is involuntary and that through
time sound dominance declines.
Complete findings of the study appear in the September and
December 2004 issues of Child Development.
Author and inquiry:
Vladimir Sloutsky, professor in the Center for Cognitive Science
at Ohio State University.
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