Rhythm in Mother–Infant Interactions
Deborah F. Deckner, Lauren B. Adamson, and Roger Bakeman
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University

Rhythmic behavior and the association of vocal rhythmic behavior with language development were studied in a sample of 30 mother–infant dyads. Dyads were observed in 2 contexts (1 involved sharing pictures and the other sharing musical toys) when infants were 18 and 24 months of age. Vocal rhythmic behavior was seen in both contexts, and in both contexts mothers matched their infant’s vocal rhythmic behavior at greater than chance rates. Greater matching tended to be associated with higher language scores whereas, counter to prediction, higher rates of maternal vocal rhythmic behavior tended to be associated with lower language scores. At 24 months of age, mother–daughter dyads showed more matching than mother–son dyads. These results suggest that differences in maternal production of vocal rhythmic behavior may foster different language learning strategies.