Human speech directed at infants, also known as baby talk, tends to use a higher pitch and slower tempo than standard speech and is known to accelerate language learning. Noting similarities between this infant-directed speech and the tone with which pet-owners address their dogs, researchers hypothesized that baby talk is not adopted due to the age of a given listener, but instead tends to be used when addressing any listener that is non-verbal.

Question

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ hypothesis?
Choose 1 answer:
Choose 1 answer:
(Choice A) People tend to raise their pitch and slow their tempo when speaking to adult humans who are non-verbal.
A
People tend to raise their pitch and slow their tempo when speaking to adult humans who are non-verbal.
(Choice B) People tend to speak to other verbal adults with a lower pitch and faster tempo.
B
People tend to speak to other verbal adults with a lower pitch and faster tempo.
(Choice C) Non-verbal adults tend to show less reactivity to baby talk than infants and children.
C
Non-verbal adults tend to show less reactivity to baby talk than infants and children.
(Choice D) People tend to view their pet as juvenile regardless of the pet’s actual age.
D
People tend to view their pet as juvenile regardless of the pet’s actual age.

Answer 1

The hypothesis is that baby talk is not just used for infants but is also a style of communication used towards any non-verbal listener, including pets. To support this hypothesis, we need evidence that shows a tendency to use baby talk characteristics (higher pitch, slower tempo) when addressing non-verbal individuals.

The finding that would most directly support this hypothesis is:

(Choice A) People tend to raise their pitch and slow their tempo when speaking to adult humans who are non-verbal.

This choice demonstrates that baby talk characteristics are employed not only with infants but also with non-verbal adults, thereby supporting the researchers' hypothesis that the usage of baby talk is based on the listener's non-verbal status rather than their age.