Young adults’ reactions to infant crying

Hechler, Christine; Beijers, Roseriet; Weerth, Carolina de

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2014.12.006

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…Our behavior findings are consistent with prior work on the interfering effects of infant cries on attention and working memory [ 22 – 24 ]. It should be noted that the magnitude of the cry interference effect on Stroop performance was relatively small (mean cry–laugh blocks = 28 ms) compared to the magnitude of the Stroop interference effect (mean incongruent–congruent trials = 98 ms).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…as well as to control sounds; participants were more distracted when listening to attachment vocalizations than to control sounds, regardless of gender or parental status. More recently, Hechler, Beijers, & de Weerth [ 24 ] showed that participants made the most mistakes on a working memory task when listening to infant crying, compared to other disturbing noises. Although much work has shown an attention bias to infant vocal stimuli, in which the power of infant vocalizations to grab attention subsequently interferes with information processing, the more specific types of neurocognitive processes affected by this attention bias to infants have remained elusive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Infant Cries Rattle Adult Cognition

et al. 2016

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The attention-grabbing quality of the infant cry is well recognized, but how the emotional valence of infant vocal signals affects adult cognition and cortical activity has heretofore been unknown. We examined the effects of two contrasting infant vocalizations (cries vs. laughs) on adult performance on a Stroop task using a cross-modal distraction paradigm in which infant distractors were vocal and targets were visual. Infant vocalizations were presented before (Experiment 1) or during each Stroop trial (Experiment 2). To evaluate the influence of infant vocalizations on cognitive control, neural responses to the Stroop task were obtained by measuring electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs) in Experiment 1. Based on the previously demonstrated existence of negative arousal bias, we hypothesized that cry vocalizations would be more distracting and invoke greater conflict processing than laugh vocalizations. Similarly, we expected participants to have greater difficulty shifting attention from the vocal distractors to the target task after hearing cries vs. after hearing laughs. Behavioral results from both experiments showed a cry interference effect, in which task performance was slower with cry than with laugh distractors. Electrophysiology data further revealed that cries more than laughs reduced attention to the task (smaller P200) and increased conflict processing (larger N450), albeit differently for incongruent and congruent trials. Results from a correlation analysis showed that the amplitudes of P200 and N450 were inversely related, suggesting a reciprocal relationship between attention and conflict processing. The findings suggest that cognitive control processes contribute to an attention bias to infant signals, which is modulated in part by the valence of the infant vocalization and the demands of the cognitive task. The findings thus support the notion that infant cries elicit a negative arousal bias that is distracting; they also identify, for the first time, the neural dynamics underlying the unique influence that infant cries and laughs have on cognitive control.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infant Cries Rattle Adult Cognition

et al. 2016

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“…Our working memory task showed that expectant parents performed worse when exposed to infant crying as compared to silence, indicating cognitive interference by infant crying. These results are similar to what we found previously in a student sample (Hechler et al, 2015). In the present study, cognitive interference by infant crying failed to predict postnatal caregiving quality.…”

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confidence: 93%

Prenatal Predictors of Postnatal Quality of Caregiving Behavior in Mothers and Fathers

et al. 2019

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Objective. The quality of parental caregiving has been shown to affect children's development from birth onward. Therefore, it is important to detect parents at risk for low-quality caregiving as early as possiblepreferably before birth. Design. Observations of expectant mothers' and fathers' behavior when exposed to infant crying were examined as predictors of the quality of caregiving toward their own infant 6 weeks postpartum. Eighty-eight expectant mothers and 57 of their male partners were tested during the third trimester of pregnancy. Parents were filmed individually while caring for a crying Simulator Infant for 15 min; the quality of their caregiving was rated on sensitivity and cooperation. Also, cognitive interference on a working memory task and the ability to regulate physical force when exposed to infant crying were assessed. When their baby was 6 weeks old, parents were filmed and rated for sensitivity and cooperation during a 15-min interaction with their own infant at home. Results. Prenatal quality of caregiving behavior toward a simulator infant predicted postnatal quality of caregiving toward the own infant in both mothers and fathers. Cognitive interference and the ability to regulate physical force did not predict postnatal quality of caregiving behavior. Conclusions. Expectant parents' quality of caregiving behavior toward a crying simulator infant predicted both mothers' and fathers' postnatal quality of caregiving behavior. Future research is needed to determine whether the simulator infant may be a useful screening instrument and training tool for parenting skills in at risk groups of parents-to-be.

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“…Additionally, the results showed that the difficulty of the memory task was significantly greater with the tone compared to infant crying. This was an unexpected result as previous research22 reported that participants had the least correct trials on the working memory task when hearing infant crying compared to other noises. Although we cannot convincingly explain this result, the purpose of using the tone was simply to prevent participants from habituating themselves to repetitive infant crying and it was unlikely that the result influenced the following main results.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 53%

The Influence of Cognitive Load on Empathy and Intention in Response to Infant Crying

Hiraoka

Nomura

2016

Sci Rep

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Many studies have explored risk factors for child maltreatment, but little research has focused on situational risk factors such as cognitive load, which involves within-individual fluctuation. The current study sought to determine whether cognitive load led to within-individual changes in intention in response to infant crying. The study also sought to ascertain whether state empathy, empathic concern (EC), and personal distress mediated or moderated this relationship. Sixty-six participants completed a memory task (remembering meaningless, two- or eight-letter, English alphabet string), during which they were required to keep these letters in mind while hearing infant crying (or a tone). Subsequently, participants rated questions concerning state empathy and intention in response to the crying (i.e., intentions involving caregiving, neglect, or physical abuse). Results showed that cognitive load reduced caregiving intention and increased intention to perpetrate neglect. In addition, EC mediated the relationship between cognitive load and intention to provide care or perpetrate neglect. Moreover, cognitive load interacted with state empathy to predict intention to provide care or perpetrate neglect. These findings highlighted the importance of focusing on situational cognitive risk factors for child maltreatment and elucidated the role of state empathy as a mediator or moderator in child maltreatment research.

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Young adults’ reactions to infant crying

Cited by 19 publications

References 23 publications

Infant Cries Rattle Adult Cognition

Infant Cries Rattle Adult Cognition

Prenatal Predictors of Postnatal Quality of Caregiving Behavior in Mothers and Fathers

The Influence of Cognitive Load on Empathy and Intention in Response to Infant Crying

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