The Newborn's Response to Auditory Stimulation: A Demonstration of Orienting and Defensive Behavior

KEARSLEY, RICHARD B. The Newborn's Response to Auditory Stimulation: A Demonstration of Orienting and Defensive Behavior. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1973, 44, 582-590. 48 normal newborns were exposed to simple and complex sounds controlled for intensity, frequency, and rise time. Eye opening followed prolonged rates of onset, and eye closing followed rapidly onsetting signals. Maximum cardiac deceleration occurred to frequencies of 500 and 2,000 cps; maximum cardiac acceleration to frequencies of 1,000 cps. Signals producing maximum deceleration were accompanied by eye opening and reduced head movement; those followed by maximum acceleration produced eye closing and increased head movement. Specific combinations of intensity and rise time when applied to particular frequencies appeared to be optimal stimuli for evoking orienting and defensive behavior.