PSYCH 1X03 Fall 2020 Exam Part 1 module 1-5: 3-month-old Sheila and her 2-year old sister Betty have only been exposed to English. They are habituated to a non-English phoneme (/ka/). Sheila turns her head when a new, non-English phoneme is presented (/kka/). Betty, however, does not turn her head when this new phoneme is presented. Why is this so?

Question

3-month-old Sheila and her 2-year old sister Betty have only been exposed to English. They are habituated to a non-English phoneme (/ka/). Sheila turns her head when a new, non-English phoneme is presented (/kka/). Betty, however, does not turn her head when this new phoneme is presented. Why is this so?

Ryan Pollard · Accepted Answer

Betty is subject to perceptual narrowing and is, therefore, unable to distinguish between the two phonemes.

PSYCH 1X03 Fall 2020 Exam Part 1 module 1-5

Betty is subject to perceptual narrowing and is, therefore, unable to distinguish between the two phonemes.

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