It pierces the night-time silence like a dagger, immediately awaking the sleeping adults in the next room. After a few groans, the adults are on their feet, groggily making their way in the direction of the high-pitched distress call. Yes, baby cries can be quite a handful to deal with for new parents. They are extremely difficult to ignore. In fact, humans have evolved in such a way that a baby cry will cause an instinctual reaction, and will cause a statistically faster response than other similar-pitched sounds.
It pierces the night-time silence like a dagger, immediately awaking the sleeping adults in the next room. After a few groans, the adults are on their feet, groggily making their way in the direction of the high-pitched distress call. Yes, baby cries can be quite a handful to deal with for new parents. They are extremely difficult to ignore. In fact, humans have evolved in such a way that a baby cry will cause an instinctual reaction, and will cause a statistically faster response than other similar-pitched sounds.
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Researchers from the University of Oxford conducted a unique experiment to come to this conclusion, using the classic "whack-a-mole" arcade game. Whack-a-mole is game requiring swift reactions and dexterity. The player holds a padded hammer, and the board has a grid of holes from which pop out moles. The moles have to be hit with the hammer before they retreat back into their holes.
The researchers took 40 volunteers to the arcade. Prior to them playing, the volunteers were subject to various sounds including adults in distress crying, birdsong, and babies crying. The participants' scores were higher after hearing the babies crying. This included both men and women.
According to Profs. Morten Kringelbach and Alan Stein of the Department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, "Our findings suggest that baby cries are treated as "special". Neither adult cries nor birdsong produce the same response. The improvements in speed and dexterity may reflect an evolved response that kicks in when an immediate reaction to a baby in distress is required. It is not hard to see how this could facilitate care-giving behaviour."
"Few sounds provoke a visceral reaction quite like the cry of a baby," says Professor Kringelbach. "For example, it is almost impossible to ignore crying babies on planes and the discomfort it arouses, despite all the other noises and distractions around."
Other studies have shown that baby cries cause higher heart rates, blood pressure, and hand grip strength. This was the first study to show an increase in speed and dexterity. This may be helpful not just for academic reasons, but also for everyday life. Perhaps one day, professional athletes will listen to baby cries on their headphones while they are on the sideline to help improve their game play.
The study has been published in the journal Acta Paediatrica.
Link to published article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2011.02554.x/abstract
Image credit: Hannamariah/Shutterstock
