Two groups of 20 infants aged 0; 3 experienced either conversational turn taking or random responsiveness of an adult. All infant vocalizations were counted and then each was categorized as a speech-like (syllabic) sound or a nonspeech-like (vocalic) sound. The results of this experiment indicated that turn taking caused changes in the quality of infant vocal sounds. When the adult maintained a give-and-take pattern, the infant produced a higher ratio of syllabic/vocalic sounds. The effect of turn taking on infant vocalizations was discussed in terms of its possible adaptive value for adult responsiveness.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the VERBAL component of babytalk affected the vocal quality of infants. Two groups of 20 0;3 infants experienced either conversational turn taking or random responsiveness of an adult. Adult responsiveness consisted of a smile, light touch to the abdomen, and a NONVERBAL ‘tsk, tsk, tsk’ sound (instead of speech). All infant vocalizations were counted and then coded as ‘syllabic’ or ‘vocalic’ sounds. The results of the study demonstrated that TURN TAKING facilitated a speak-listen pattern of vocalizing by the infant, but in the absence of the VERBAL component of the adult's response, turn taking had no special facilitative effect on syllabic sounds. It was concluded that what adults say to 3-month-old infants influences what infants ‘say’ in return. Possible mechanisms underlying the infant's vocal response to verbal input were reviewed. It was suggested that the more mature sounds (syllabic) may proportionally increase as a result of the combined effects of turn-taking and verbal stimulation on the motor control of respiration and phonation.

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