What evidence indicates that newborn infants can distinguish between the sounds "ba" and "pa"?
A)The sound "pa" causes a heart rate increase, and "ba" causes a decrease.
B)After habituating to one sound, they dishabituate when they hear the other one.
C)Their babbling includes both of these sounds at different times.
D)They turn their heads toward "ba" but not toward "pa."

Question

What evidence indicates that newborn infants can distinguish between the sounds "ba" and "pa"?​
A)The sound "pa" causes a heart rate increase, and "ba" causes a decrease.
B)​After habituating to one sound, they dishabituate when they hear the other one.
C)​Their babbling includes both of these sounds at different times.
D)​They turn their heads toward "ba" but not toward "pa."

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Research on habituation and dishabituation in newborn infants has shown that they can distinguish between different speech sounds, including "ba" and "pa". After being habituated to one sound, if they hear a different sound (in this case, "pa" after habituating to "ba" or vice versa), they will dishabituate and show increased attention to the new sound. This suggests that they have differentiated between the two sounds. The other options (A, C, and D) do not specifically relate to evidence for distinguishing between "ba" and "pa".

What Evidence Indicates That Newborn Infants Can Distinguish Between the Sounds