47. Researchers repeatedly present Jenna, a one-month-old infant, with a sound ('puh') while measuring the rate at which she sucks on her pacifier. When her sucking rate slows, they begin to present Jenna with a different sound ('buh'). The researchers are most likely testing Jenna's
Answer: E
Jenna's phonemic discrimination is being tested.
The researchers are assessing Jenna's ability to distinguish between different phonemes, which is a key aspect of phonemic discrimination. By measuring her sucking rate in response to varied sounds, they can determine her sensitivity to the changes in sound.
A) syntactic awareness
Syntactic awareness pertains to the understanding of sentence structure and grammar rather than the recognition of individual sounds. Since the study focuses on Jenna's response to different phonetic sounds, this option does not apply to the context of the experiment.
B) Moro reflex
The Moro reflex is an involuntary response seen in infants, characterized by a startle reaction to sudden stimuli. This reflex is unrelated to auditory processing or the ability to discriminate between sounds, making this option incorrect in the context of the presented scenario.
C) visual acuity
Visual acuity refers to the clarity or sharpness of vision, which is not relevant to the auditory stimuli being tested in this study. Since the researchers are focusing on sound perception rather than visual recognition, this option is not applicable.
D) receptive vocabulary
Receptive vocabulary involves the understanding of words and their meanings, which typically develops later as infants grow. The study is specifically aimed at testing the ability to differentiate between sounds, rather than understanding or recognizing words, thus making this option incorrect.
E) phonemic discrimination
Phonemic discrimination is the ability to identify and differentiate between distinct phonemes in language. This is precisely what the researchers are testing by presenting different sounds and observing Jenna's sucking rate in response, indicating her capacity to perceive these auditory distinctions.
Conclusion
The correct answer is phonemic discrimination, as the experiment is designed to assess Jenna's ability to differentiate between the sounds 'puh' and 'buh'. All other options either pertain to different areas of development or are unrelated to the auditory processing being investigated, confirming that E is the definitive correct choice.