A new study has provided fascinating insights into how adults respond to the cries of babies, revealing a direct link between the acoustic features of a cry and an automatic emotional response in men and women.
Researchers from the National Association of Speech and Language Professionals (NLP) found that cries from babies in real pain triggered the greatest changes in the adults' facial temperature, regardless of pitch.
The study suggests that people are able to pick up on specific acoustic features in a baby's cry to differentiate between a simple cry of unhappiness and a cry of genuine pain.
This emotional sensing of pain is reflected in a stronger response from the autonomic nervous system.
While it is still too early to know if there will be practical applications, the findings are a significant step in understanding the biological and emotional connections between babies and caregivers.
The study challenges a previous claim that women were more hardwired to wake up to a crying baby, as it found that men were equally as likely to be woken by a wailing infant.
The disparity in who gets up to tend to the baby is still debated, but researchers suggest it may be due to factors such as maternity and paternity leave, as well as breastfeeding.
Researchers from the National Association of Speech and Language Professionals (NLP) found that cries from babies in real pain triggered the greatest changes in the adults' facial temperature, regardless of pitch.
The study suggests that people are able to pick up on specific acoustic features in a baby's cry to differentiate between a simple cry of unhappiness and a cry of genuine pain.
This emotional sensing of pain is reflected in a stronger response from the autonomic nervous system.
While it is still too early to know if there will be practical applications, the findings are a significant step in understanding the biological and emotional connections between babies and caregivers.
The study challenges a previous claim that women were more hardwired to wake up to a crying baby, as it found that men were equally as likely to be woken by a wailing infant.
The disparity in who gets up to tend to the baby is still debated, but researchers suggest it may be due to factors such as maternity and paternity leave, as well as breastfeeding.