Quantifying sources of variability in infancy research using the infant-directed speech preference

The field of psychology has become increasingly concerned with issues related to methodology and replicability. Infancy researchers face specific challenges related to replicability: high-powered studies are difficult to conduct, testing conditions vary across labs, and different labs have access to different infant populations, amongst other factors. Addressing these concerns, we report on a large-scale, multi-site study aimed at 1) assessing the overall replicability of a single theoretically-important phenomenon and 2) examining methodological, situational, cultural, and developmental moderators. We focus on infants’ preference for infant-directed speech (IDS) over adult-directed speech (ADS). Stimuli of mothers speaking to their infants and to an adult were created using semi-naturalistic laboratory-based audio recordings in North American English. Infants’ relative preference for IDS and ADS was assessed across XYZ laboratories in North America and Europe using the three commonly-used infant discrimination methods (head-turn preference, central fixation, and eye tracking). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF RESULTS.

心理学领域对方法论与可重复性问题日益关注。婴儿心理学研究者面临诸多与可重复性相关的特定挑战：高强度的研究难以实施，实验条件在各个实验室之间存在差异，且不同实验室所能接触到的婴儿群体亦不尽相同，此乃其中之因素。为解决上述问题，本研究报告了一项大规模、多中心的调查研究，旨在1)评估单一理论重要性现象的整体可重复性，以及2)探讨方法论、情境、文化以及发展调节因素。本研究聚焦于婴儿对婴儿指向性言语（IDS）相对于成人指向性言语（ADS）的偏好。通过在北美使用半自然主义实验室音频记录，制作了母亲对婴儿及成人说话的刺激材料。采用三种常用的婴儿辨别方法（头部转向偏好、中央注视以及眼动追踪）在北美和欧洲的 XYZ 实验室对婴儿相对于 IDS 和 ADS 的相对偏好进行了评估。以下是研究结果之简要概述。