Nature Communications上發(fā)表的一項(xiàng)研究表明,，父親在識別自己孩子哭聲方面可以跟母親一樣好,。這些發(fā)現(xiàn)與人們普遍所持觀點(diǎn)是相悖的,，即母親在識別其嬰兒聲音方面要比父親好。
父母能夠識別其子女哭聲不同特點(diǎn)的能力,，在促進(jìn)“適應(yīng)性關(guān)愛”的提供方面起一定作用,。據(jù)有關(guān)母性本能的假設(shè)，母親在執(zhí)行這些任務(wù)時(shí)應(yīng)當(dāng)比父親更好,。然而,，以前的研究要么完全聚焦于母親，要么未對父母中的一方與其孩子相處時(shí)間的多少進(jìn)行對照,。Nicolas Mathevon及其同事用來自法國和剛果民主共和國的人類研究對象進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)對照研究,，具體做法是：評估父母根據(jù)他們自己孩子的哭聲與相同年齡的其他孩子的哭聲的差別來識別自己孩子的能力。他們發(fā)現(xiàn),，父親和母親都能從哭聲識別出自己的孩子來,，他們在這方面的能力是一樣的，而且影響這種努力的惟一關(guān)鍵因素是父母與自己孩子相處的時(shí)間多少,。
作者的結(jié)論是：在決定父母中的一方根據(jù)哭聲識別自己孩子的能力中重要的是經(jīng)驗(yàn),，而不是特定性別的先天本領(lǐng)。他們希望,，這項(xiàng)研究將為確定其他更多的變量怎樣影響識別能力,、以及它們對父母雙方的影響是否相似提供一個(gè)基礎(chǔ)。（生物谷Bioon.com）
The Lancet, doi:10.1038/ncomms2713
Fathers are just as good as mothers at recognizing the cries of their baby
Erik Gustafsson,Florence Levréro,David Reby& Nicolas Mathevon
Previous investigations of parents’ abilities to recognize the cries of their own babies have identified substantial and significant sex differences, with mothers showing greater correct recognition rates than fathers. Such sex differences in parenting abilities are common in non-human mammals and usually attributed to differential evolutionary pressures on male and female parental investment. However, in humans the traditional concept of ‘maternal instinct’ has received little empirical support and is incongruous given our evolutionary past as cooperative breeders. Here we use a controlled experimental design to show that both fathers and mothers can reliably and equally recognize their own baby from their cries, and that the only crucial factor affecting this ability is the amount of time spent by the parent with their own baby. These results highlight the importance of exposure and learning in the development of this ability, which may rely on shared auditory and cognitive abilities rather than sex-specific innate predispositions.
