ふり遊びにおける母親の発話ピッチ : 高いピッチは子どもが母親のふりを理解するための手がかりとなるか？

Abstract

Mothers modify their behaviors during pretense, and some of these behavior modifications are effective cues for toddlers' understanding of pretense. The present study investigated whether Japanese mothers vary the pitch of their voice when they were pretending as opposed to really snacking with 18-month-olds. When mother-child pairs participated in the pretend condition first, mothers used a higher pitch in the pretend condition than in the real condition. However, the height of maternal pitch during pretense was not related to their toddlers' apparent understanding of pretense. This study indicates that mothers vary the pitch of their voice during pretense, but a higher pitch is not a cue for toddlers' understanding of pretense.