Human newborns' response to decreased sound pressure level (SPL) was investigated with a localized headturning habituation procedure. Following criterion orientation (three headturns toward the sound out of four consecutive trials) and habituation (three consecutive trials with no headturns or headturns away from the sound), study 1 and 2 assessed newborn female infants' (M age = 41 hrs.) responses to lower-volume sounds immediately following habituation and following a 55-sec delay, respectively. Generalization of habituation to decreased volume following delay with recovery immediately following habituation was observed. Immediate recovery to decreased SPL contradicts a selective receptor adaptation view because a lower-intensity stimulus does not engage a separate set of receptor cells. It is proposed that generalization of habituation following delay involves recognition of the sound as familiar despite variations in volume.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.74573 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Tarquinio, Nancy |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Psychology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001171787, proquestno: AAINN66502, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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