Parental Preferences to Music Stimuli of Devices and Playthings for Babies, Infants and Toddlers

Idit Sulkin, Warren Brodsky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Music communications and interactions are important to child development. Yet modern day technology may have caused social modifications of musical engagement for parents and their children. Today, music-based electronic devices seem too often to be used in place of human musical interactions. The current investigation developed an alternative music based on pre-language sounds (for devices and playthings) that we assume can engage babies, and presented these to parents for their judgment. In Study 1, parents of babies in waiting rooms of child development centers completed a survey after listening to three different music genres (classical music themes, well-known folk tunes, and paralanguage songs). Study 2 replicated Study 1 but within home settings. Study 3 engaged mothers and babies in a music-movement group. The results indicate that not only are parents open to alternatives, but they can envision purchasing devices and playthings which employ new more adaptive music genres that might be more age appropriate and developmentally sound.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)307-320
Number of pages14
JournalPsychology of Music
Volume43
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 22 May 2015

Keywords

  • background music
  • infants
  • mobiles & toys
  • paralanguage songs
  • parental preferences

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychology (miscellaneous)
  • Music

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