An 8-month-old infant listens to audiotape recordings of nonsense sounds, "bobusis metapog bobusis pogmeta bobusis," for 2 minutes. Which of the following is likely to be true in this situation?
A) The infant will perceive "bobusis" as a word and will show surprise if "bobumet" is presented.
B) The infant will perceive "metapog" as a word and will show surprise if "pogmeta" is presented.
C) The infant will perceive "bobumet" as a word and will show surprise if "bobupog" is presented.
D) The infant will be unable to distinguish between any of the syllables because only a few of them are presented in regular sequence.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Infants are capable of recognizing patterns and regularities in the sounds they hear, which helps them in the early stages of language acquisition. In this scenario, "bobusis" is repeated multiple times, making it likely that the infant will perceive it as a distinct unit or "word." If a new, unfamiliar combination such as "bobumet" is introduced, the infant may show surprise due to the violation of the expected pattern, indicating an early understanding of word boundaries and the ability to detect when a different or unfamiliar sound sequence is presented.

An 8-Month-Old Infant Listens to Audiotape Recordings of Nonsense Sounds