Behavioral methods in infancy: pitfalls of single measures.

Authors :: Trehub SE
Source :: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences [Ann N Y Acad Sci] 2012 Apr; Vol. 1252, pp. 37-42.
Publication Year :: 2012
Abstract: This paper outlines the principal behavioral methods used to study music processing in infancy. The advantages of conditioning procedures are offset by high attrition rates and restrictions on the stimuli that can be used. The head-turn preference procedure is more user-friendly but poses greater interpretive challenges. In view of the multidimensional nature of infant attention, no single response measure, whether behavioral, physiological, or neural, can provide unambiguous information about music processing in infancy. Greater use of ecologically valid stimuli is likely to generate increased cooperation from infants and greater generality of the findings.<br /> (© 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.)