Listen for the babbles or giggles!

6-month-olds and 10-month-olds

In this study, you will start by answering some questions about your child's demographics (ex: What language do you speak at home?), their language skills (ex: Does your baby make sounds like “da,” “ga,” “ka,” and “ba”?), and their laughter (ex: When did your child start laughing?). Then, your child will listen to several sounds produced by adults and infants. Your baby will either be assigned to listen to speech sounds (like coos and babbles) or laughter.

We're studying how babies pay attention to different voices and sounds during their first year, as they're learning language. Past research has found that babies tend to prefer listening to sounds made by other infants. In this study, we want to find out if that preference also applies to other sounds, like laughter. Understanding which voices and sounds catch a baby's attention most can help us learn more about how children learn language in those early months.

You'll also be asked to fill out a few short surveys. These will help us figure out whether more experience making certain sounds (like babbles or laughter) influence the sounds infants prefer to listen to.

15 minutes

After you finish the study, you will have the opportunity to download a "Baby Scientist" certificate of participation. To be eligible to receive this certificate, your child must be in the age range specified for this study, you must submit a valid consent statement, and we must be able to confirm that there is a child with you. However, you may download a certificate even if you don't finish the study, or if we are not able to use your child's data.