Perceptual Anchoring in Preschool Children
Author Information
Author(s): Karen Banai, Rachel Yifat
Primary Institution: University of Haifa
Hypothesis
Does the auditory frequency discrimination of preschool children improve when given the opportunity to use previously presented standard stimuli as perceptual anchors?
Conclusion
Preschool children can use context to form perceptual anchors, but their ability is less developed than that of adults.
Supporting Evidence
- Children were significantly more sensitive in the with-reference than in the no-reference condition.
- The anchoring effect was present among the majority of typically developing preschool children.
- Discrimination thresholds were significantly lower in the reference containing than in the no-reference condition.
- Only 20-25% of children showed adult range frequency discrimination.
- Working memory was significantly related to performance in the no-reference condition.
Takeaway
This study shows that young children can remember sounds from earlier in a test to help them decide if new sounds are the same or different, but they aren't as good at it as adults.
Methodology
Frequency discrimination was tested using two adaptive same/different protocols with and without a repeated standard tone.
Limitations
The study's findings may not generalize to children with developmental or auditory disorders.
Participant Demographics
77 typically developing preschool children aged 50-78 months, predominantly from average or above average socioeconomic backgrounds.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p=0.005
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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