Variations in the aversiveness of a newborn's distress cry were examined by means of manipulation of features of fundamental frequency, intonation, and spectral complexity, and of information given to subjects about the infant's health status. Findings suggest that the listener's reaction to cry characteristics can be altered by the inducement of…

Parents, and adults inexperienced in child care rated intensities of infants' cries. The groups did not differ in their ratings. The cries of 6-month olds were rated more intense than 1-month olds. Amplitude and noisiness of cry predicted adult judgments of 1-year olds' cries. A measure of amplitude ratio predicted ratings of 6-month olds' cries.…

Conducted spectrum analysis of standard and vociferous cries from infants with Wessel's colic, non-Wessel's colic, and comparison infants. Vociferous cries had longer duration, higher fundamental frequency, and greater percentage of dysphonation than standard cries. After feedings, problematic criers had greater percentage of dysphonation in…

Examined differences in acoustic characteristics of cries, both early and late, within a prolonged crying bout. Results indicated that late cries appeared to result from a smaller number of factors than did early cries. Results support notions that crying bouts settle into a regular cry with acoustic features matching a theoretical model of cry…