Endicott College
Project Title: Effects of Contingent Voice and Touch on Infant Orienting and Vocal Responses
Contingent responding to infant orienting and vocalizations has been investigated as an intervention that may potentially contribute to critical early social and language development. The current study (under the mentorship of Dr. Mary Jane Weiss, Dr. Martha Pelaez, and Dr. Erin Michaud) examines the impact of contingent social interactions (combinations of smiles, voice, and touch) on behaviors critical to early child development (i.e., eye contact and vocalizations). Specifically, This study investigates (1) the effects of contingent synchronous reinforcement including voice only, touch only, and combined voice and touch on duration of infant orienting toward adult eyes and (2) the effects of contingent vocal imitation (CVI) alone and CVI combined with touch on frequency of infant vocalizations for typically developing four- to seven-month-old infants using modified alternating treatments designs including baseline, reversal, and follow up phases. This examination of observable interactions between infants and contingent environmental events directly relates to Bijou’s definition of development: “progressive changes in interactions between the behavior of individuals and the events in their environment” (Bijou & Baer, 1978, p.2). The results of this study will replicate and extend previous work to directly inform child development and offer simple, concrete procedures that may be implemented by early childhood professionals and caregivers to enhance early social and language development.
The Sidney W. and Janet R. Bijou Grant funds provide opportunities for the acquisition of essential materials to conduct the research study and will support expenses for disseminating findings at professional conferences.
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