TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring variation in infants' preference for infant‐directed speech: evidence from a multi‐site study in Africa
AU - Tsui, Angeline Sin Mei
AU - Carstensen, Alexandra
AU - Kachergis, George
AU - Cao, Anjie
AU - Abubakar, Amina
AU - Asnake, Mulat
AU - Barry, Oumar
AU - Basnight‐Brown, Dana M.
AU - Bentu, Dangkat
AU - Bergmann, Christina
AU - Dami, Evans Binan
AU - Boll‐Avetisyan, Natalie
AU - de Jongh, Marguerite
AU - Diop, Yatma
AU - Duah, Reginald Akuoko
AU - Herrmann, Esther
AU - Jang, Chaning
AU - Kizito, Simon
AU - Lamba, Tilinao
AU - Maliwichi‐Senganimalunje, Limbika
AU - Marangu, Joyce
AU - Mathur, Maya
AU - Mbagaya, Catherine V.
AU - Mengistie, Demeke Mekonnen
AU - Milton, Carmen
AU - Mushimiyimana, Febronie
AU - Ndhambi, Mikateko
AU - Ngina, Irene
AU - Njoroge, Eunice
AU - Oburu, Paul Odhiambo
AU - Okocha, Asana
AU - Omane, Paul Okyere
AU - Singh, Anisha
AU - Ssemata, Andrew S.
AU - Unyuzumutima, Juliette
AU - Zeidler, Henriette
AU - Lew‐Williams, Casey
AU - Frank, Michael C.
PY - 2026/7/7
Y1 - 2026/7/7
N2 - Infants show a preference for infant-directed speech (IDS) over adult-directed speech (ADS). This preference has been linked to infants' language processing and word learning in experimental settings, and also correlates with later language outcomes. Recently, the cross-cultural consistency of infants' IDS preference has been confirmed by large-scale, multisite replication studies, but conclusions from these studies were primarily based on participants from North America and Europe. The current study addressed this sampling bias via a large-scale, multisite study of infants (3–15 months) across communities in Africa. We investigated whether participants showed a preference for IDS over ADS, and if so, whether the magnitude of their preference differs from effects documented in other populations of infants. Across six sites (total N = 200), we observed a preference for IDS over ADS (𝛽IDSvs.ADS = 0.06), suggesting that infants look on average 6% longer on the IDS trials than the ADS trials. There was no significant difference between African infants in this study and a method-matched subsample of infants from prior studies of IDS preference. This study provides new evidence on the generalizability of IDS preference and looking-time methods more broadly, while also highlighting some of the challenges of global big team science.
AB - Infants show a preference for infant-directed speech (IDS) over adult-directed speech (ADS). This preference has been linked to infants' language processing and word learning in experimental settings, and also correlates with later language outcomes. Recently, the cross-cultural consistency of infants' IDS preference has been confirmed by large-scale, multisite replication studies, but conclusions from these studies were primarily based on participants from North America and Europe. The current study addressed this sampling bias via a large-scale, multisite study of infants (3–15 months) across communities in Africa. We investigated whether participants showed a preference for IDS over ADS, and if so, whether the magnitude of their preference differs from effects documented in other populations of infants. Across six sites (total N = 200), we observed a preference for IDS over ADS (𝛽IDSvs.ADS = 0.06), suggesting that infants look on average 6% longer on the IDS trials than the ADS trials. There was no significant difference between African infants in this study and a method-matched subsample of infants from prior studies of IDS preference. This study provides new evidence on the generalizability of IDS preference and looking-time methods more broadly, while also highlighting some of the challenges of global big team science.
KW - Africa
KW - generalizability
KW - infants
KW - infant-directed speech
KW - reproducibility
U2 - 10.1111/desc.70242
DO - 10.1111/desc.70242
M3 - Article
SN - 1363-755X
VL - 29
JO - Developmental Science
JF - Developmental Science
IS - 5
M1 - e70242
ER -