Months before babies start to speak, words play an important role in the brain development of infants. Even at the age of three months, words have a bigger impact on their minds than other sounds, including music.
Months before babies start to speak, words play an important role in the brain development of infants. Even at the age of three months, words have a bigger impact on their minds than other sounds, including music.
To examine the influence of words and tones on 46 babies, between 3 and 4 months old, researchers showed them a series of pictures of fish, accompanied by either words or beeps.
The babies were then shown pictures of a fish and one of a dinosaur side by side and the researchers measured how long they looked at each image. Looking at the fish longer than the dinosaur demonstrated they had categorised the fish in their minds. The babies in the word and tone groups saw exactly the same pictures for exactly the same amount of time, but only those in the word group looked at the fish for longer.
The research showed that babies who heard words were better able to categorise pictures than those who simply heard tones. This study supports the Indian belief that young babies can learn many things even though they are unable to talk, due to which mothers talk to their young babies not only after birth but even while they are in the womb.
To examine the influence of words and tones on 46 babies, between 3 and 4 months old, researchers showed them a series of pictures of fish, accompanied by either words or beeps.
The babies were then shown pictures of a fish and one of a dinosaur side by side and the researchers measured how long they looked at each image. Looking at the fish longer than the dinosaur demonstrated they had categorised the fish in their minds. The babies in the word and tone groups saw exactly the same pictures for exactly the same amount of time, but only those in the word group looked at the fish for longer.
The research showed that babies who heard words were better able to categorise pictures than those who simply heard tones. This study supports the Indian belief that young babies can learn many things even though they are unable to talk, due to which mothers talk to their young babies not only after birth but even while they are in the womb.
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