Early attachment : maternal voice preference in one- and three-day-old infants
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- William Paul Fifer (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Anthony J. DeCasper
Abstract: The current literature on infant development points to a new appreciation of the perceptual and learning capabilities of the newborn. Sensorially precocial and sensitive to a variety of reinforcement contingencies, neonates are prepared to engage in the kinds of reciprocal social interactions necessary for the development of the mother-infant bond. This study investigates neonatal discrimination of and preference for mother's voice, a phenomenon which may function as a cornerstone of the attachment process. According to modern usage, attachment processes refer to the establishment and maintenance of proximity between an infant and a conspecific, usually the natural mother (Ainsworth, 1979). Historically, students of attachment have emphasized the role of maternal behaviors in this process. More recently, however, the reciprocal nature of the mother-infant relationship has been underscored (Ainsworth, 1972; Bell, 1974; Bowlby, 1969; Brazleton, 1978; Gewirtz, 1972; Shaffer & Emerson, 1964; Sherrod, Vietz, & Friedman, 1978; Wolff, 1969). This experiment focuses on the newborn infant’s role in the attachment process.
Early attachment : maternal voice preference in one- and three-day-old infants
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Created on 1/1/1981
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 1981
- Subjects
- Auditory perception in infants
- Mother and infant
- Attachment behavior in infants