Publications

Publications du LECD sur son site HAL

• [hal-01244841] Sex Differences in Language Across Early Childhood: Family Socioeconomic Status does not Impact Boys and Girls Equally

  17 décembre 2015

  Child sex and family socioeconomic status (SES) have been repeatedly identified as a source of inter-individual variation in language development; yet their interactions have rarely been explored. While sex differences are the focus of a renewed interest concerning emerging language skills, data remain scarce and are not consistent across preschool years. The questions of whether family SES impacts boys and girls equally, as well as of the consistency of these differences throughout early childhood, remain open. We evaluated consistency of sex differences across SES and age by focusing on how children (N = 262), from 2;6 to 6;4 years old, from two contrasting social backgrounds, acquire a frequent phonological alternation in French – the liaison. By using a picture naming task eliciting the production of obligatory liaisons, we found evidence of sex differences over the preschool years in low-SES children, but not between high-SES boys and girls whose performances were very similar. Low-SES boys' performances were the poorest whereas low-SES girls' performances were intermediate, that is, lower than those of high-SES children of both sexes but higher than those of low-SES boys. Although all children's mastery of obligatory liaisons progressed with age, our findings showed a significant impeding effect of low-SES, especially for boys.
• [hal-04449525] Racial categorization and intergroup perception in preschool children: A focus on group membership and group size in the French context

  9 février 2024

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• [hal-04405861] Examining differences in minority versus majority preschoolers on social categorization and perceived intergroup distance

  19 janvier 2024

  Abstract We examined the differences between majority and minority children (i.e., group membership) on racial categorization and perceived cultural distance, among 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children, in low diversified schools. We used a spontaneous social categorization task using pictures of children from three different racial groups broadly represented in France (Europeans, Black‐, and North‐Africans), and an evaluation of the perceived cultural distance between participants' in‐group and the racial group represented in the picture, adapted to children and based on three factors (language, eating habits, and music). Results revealed an effect of age on racial categorization: the older the children, the more successful they are in this task. They showed a significant effect of the racial group represented in the photos on perceived cultural distance: members of minority groups (i.e., Black‐ and North‐Africans) were evaluated as more different compared to those of the majority group on each of the factors. Finally, we got an interaction between participants' in‐group and the racial group represented in the pictures, for the language factor: members of the majority group perceived as more different photographs representing minorities peers than those representing majority peers, while participants belonging to minority groups perceived no differences between photographs, according to the racial criteria.
• [hal-01053107] Measuring willingness to try new foods: A self-report questionnaire for French-speaking children

  29 juillet 2014

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• [hal-04449520] Racial Categorization and Intergroup Relations in Children: The Role of Social Status and Numerical Group Size

  9 février 2024

  The aim of this review was to examine the effect of social and numerical group size on racial categorization and intergroup relations in children. We first described the development of racial categorization and the factors that increase the saliency of the race criterion in different contexts. Then, we examine the role of social status in intergroups relations and show that low status children express lower ingroup favoritism compared to their peers from high status groups. Few studies investigated the role of ingroup size on intergroup biases. Here, we look at this numerical variable through the proportion of children of different racial groups in the school environment. The results show that homogeneous environments contribute to the decrease of bias and negative attitudes. We discuss how identifying specific and interactive effects of the social and numerical group size would allow us to implement early and efficient intervention programs.
• [hal-01644067] Influence of auditory tempo on the endogenous rhythm of non-nutritive sucking

  21 novembre 2017

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• [hal-01645056] Spontaneous motor tempo and rhythmical synchronisation in 2½-and 4-year-old children

  22 novembre 2017

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• [hal-01478457] L'éthique animale au croisement des perspectives de recherche entre éthologie et philosophie

  28 février 2017

  Des recherches conduites récemment en éthologie tendent à considérer les animaux comme des agents moraux. Ils ne concernent que peu d’espèces, primates surtout, et étudient essentiellement les comportements liés à l’empathie et le sentiment d’injustice. Ces deux thématiques coïncident avec certains travaux menés en psychologie et en philosophie morales qui suggèrent que notre capacité morale s’appuie sur au moins deux principales sous-capacités consacrées respectivement à un sens du juste et à un sens du bon. Ces recherches influencent notre manière de concevoir la morale et notre relation avec les animaux.
• [hal-04687928] Young children's difficulties in switching from rhythm production to temporal interval production (>1 s)

  4 septembre 2024

  In order to efficiently perform audio-motor coordination children must process event duration. It has recently been shown that duration processing in adults involves two distinct, or at least hierarchically interrelated, processes. The processing of durations ranging from a hundred milliseconds to around one second is well accounted for by the Scalar Timing Theory. For duration above one second, temporal processing in adults appears to be task-dependent. Performances in the range of a hundred millisecond durations are usually studied with auditory tempo tasks. In this study, we examine timing performance in children for a large range of durations, from 400 ms to 4 seconds, using the same experimental design. The procedure consists in a motor synchronization task. Overall, our results show that 5 year olds perform better than 3 year olds. However, durations greater than, 1500 ms are difficult to process, leading to increasing variability in produced intervals. Moreover, only a few children are able to produce very long duration intervals. The main finding of this study confirms the existence of a break in the region of 1500 ms when a repeated synchronization task is tested. Consistently with the adult literature, this finding suggests the existence of two duration-dependent timing processes when children have to coordinate their motor behavior to external events
• [hal-04035318] Predictors of Intentions to Eat Healthily in 8–9-Year-Old Children

  17 mars 2023

  One thousand two hundred seventy-two French children aged 8–9 years old participated in a study aimed at identifying predictors of healthy eating intention. We used a survey based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Regression analyses were performed to assess the extent to which the extended TPB variables explained intention to eat healthily. The results indicated that attitude, parental norms, friend's norms, knowledge, motivation to conform to friends' and parental norms and perceived behavioral control accounted for 35% of the variance of intention to eat healthily. The most important predictor in this study was perceived as behavioral control.
• [hal-04133300] Young children’s difficulties in switching from rhythm production to temporal interval production (>1 s)

  19 juin 2023

  This study examined the young children's abilities to switch from rhythm production, with short inter-tap intervals (ITIs), to temporal interval production, with long ITI (>1 s), in a sensorimotor synchronization task. Children aged 3-and 5-year-olds were given six sessions of synchronization. In a control group, they had to synchronize their ITI to an inter-stimulus interval (ISI) of 4 s. In the experimental group, they must progressively increase their ITI for one session to the next (from 0.4 to 4.0-s ISI). Our results showed that the 5-yearolds produced longer ITI that the 3-year-olds in synchronization. However, the value of ITI in the 5-year-olds never exceeded 1.5 s, with more variable ITI in the control than in the experimental group. In addition, at 5 years, boys had more difficulties than girls in changing their tapping rhythm. These results suggest a temporal window in sensorimotor synchronization, beyond which the rhythm is lost and the synchronization becomes difficult.
• [hal-01480085] Psychological Disorders and Ecological Factors Affect the Development of Executive Functions: Some Perspectives

  3 février 2021

  The links between deficits in executive functions (EFs) (e.g., mental flexibility, inhibition capacities, etc.) and some psychological disorders (e.g., anxiety and depressive disorders) have been investigated in the past decades or so.
• [hal-04045804] Adolescents’ Attachment to Parents and Peers: Links to Young Adulthood Friendship Quality

  25 mars 2023

  Few studies have been carried out on emerging adults' friendships and on their developmental roots. Research suggests that in adolescence, both attachment to parents and attachment to peers play a role in future socio-emotional development. The aim of the present study was to compare attachment in these two types of relationships in adolescence according to gender and test whether they respectively predicted the perception of best friendship in early adulthood. A sample of 83 participants (49 girls) was seen in early adolescence (M = 13.66 years, SD = 0.64) and 7 years later (mean age = 21.15 years, SD = 0.83). At T1, participants completed the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, which measures attachment using three subscales (communication, alienation and trust) and one global security score. At T2, they completed the McGill Friendship Questionnaire. Results show that in adolescence, boys report higher security with parents compared to peers (mainly due to better communication), unlike girls who obtain higher scores with peers. Longitudinal findings reveal that alienation in the relation with parents is what best predicts friendship quality in early adulthood. These findings underline the specific internal working models at play in socio-emotional development and the way gender differences evolve from adolescence to early adulthood. Highlights: Contrary to female adolescents, males reported higher security with parents compared to peers (mainly due to better communication). Female adolescents reported better communication with peers than males. No gender difference in friendship quality in emerging adulthood was found. Results suggest that the progressive broadening of attachment from parents to peers occurs earlier for girls than for boys. Alienation in the relation with parents in early adolescence predicts friendship quality in early adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
• [hal-02887838] Régulation rythmique avant 4 ans : effet d'un tempo auditif sur le tempo moteur

  2 juillet 2020

  L'objectif de cette étude est d'analyser les capacités de l'enfant âgé de 1 ½ à 3 ½ ans à modifier son tempo moteur spontané (TMS) en fonction de tempi auditifs. Les résultats montrent que le TMS reste constant entre 1 ½ et 3 ½ ans et que, parallèlement, il devient plus régulier. Les enfants les plus âgés modifient leurs rythmes de frappes si le tempo auditif diffère d'au moins 20 % de leurs propres rythmes. La capacité des enfants à ralentir leurs rythmes de frappes se met en place plus tardivement que leur accéléra-tion. Enfin, les modifications du rythme de frappes induisent une modification équivalente du TMS mais transitoire.
• [hal-02887830] Tempo Discrimination in 3-and 4-year-old children: performances and threshold

  2 juillet 2020

  Durations of less than one second are involved in all kinds of activities, such as music perception or rhythmical production tasks. It is therefore important to know how short durations are processed at a young age. This study aims to define discrimination performance between 3-and 4-year-olds (tempo discrimination). The first 4 years of life are essential for cognitive development and there is little data concerning those years due to the extreme difficulty of finding methods to assess children's timing performances. Moreover, the results yielded by previous experiments are controversial. Our data revealed that discrimination performances improve significantly within only a few months. The discrimination data from 3 and 4 year-olds are compared to those from older children. The overall results are discussed in a developmental model context.
• [hal-01478437] Effect of Interaction Type on the Characteristics of Pet-Directed Speech in Female Dog Owners

  28 février 2017

  Recent studies focusing on the interspecific communicative interactions between humans and dogs show that owners use a special speech register when addressing their dog. This register, called pet-directed speech (PDS), has prosodic and syntactic features similar to that of infant-directed speech (IDS). While IDS prosody is known to vary according to the context of the communication with babies, we still know little about the way owners adjust acoustic and verbal PDS features according to the type of interaction with their dog. The aim of the study was therefore to explore whether the characteristics of women's speech depend on the nature of interaction with their dog. We recorded 34 adult women interacting with their dog in four conditions: before a brief separation, after reuniting, during play and while giving commands. Our results show that before separation women used a low pitch, few modulations, high intensity variations and very few affective sentences. In contrast, the reunion interactions were characterized by a very high pitch, few imperatives and a high frequency of affectionate nicknames. During play, women used mainly questions and attention-getting devices. Finally when commanding, women mainly used imperatives as well as attention-getting devices. Thus, like mothers using IDS, female owners adapt the verbal as well as the non-verbal characteristics of their PDS to the nature of the interaction with their dog, suggesting that the intended function of these vocal utterances remains to provide dogs with information about their intentions and emotions.
• [hal-04700317] Cognitive performance of grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) during a discrimination learning task: Effect of the emotional valence of stimuli

  17 septembre 2024

  Emotions are omnipresent in many animals' lives. It is a complex concept that encompasses physiological, subjective, behavioural and cognitive aspects. While the complex relationship between emotion and cognition has been well studied in humans and in some nonhuman primates, it remains rather unexplored for other nonhuman primate species, such as lemurs. In our study, we evaluated the performance of N = 48 grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) in a discrimination learning task using visual emotional stimuli. We tested whether the type of visual stimulus (positive, negative or neutral) influenced the cognitive performance of mouse lemurs. Individuals had to learn to discriminate between two platforms according to the associated visual stimuli and to jump to the target platform (leading to a reward). Our main finding was that emotional stimuli, whether positive or negative in valence, impaired cognitive performance when used as a target.<p>Specifically, the lowest success rate occurred when the target was associated with the emotional stimuli, and the highest success rate occurred when it was associated with neutral stimuli. Our results show a similar pattern to that found in other primate species and support the adaptive role of emotion. Our results also support that individual differences could be a factor impacting the relation between emotion and cognition. This study is the first to explore how emotions interfere with the cognitive abilities of a lemur species and highlights the importance of acknowledging emotion in mouse lemurs as well as studying the emotion-cognition interaction in a wider range of primate species.</p>
• [hal-03861918] How’s my kitty? Acoustic parameters of cat-directed speech in human-cat interactions

  20 novembre 2022

  In Western cultures, humans tend to use a specific kind of speech when talking to their pets, characterised, from an acoustical point of view, by elevated pitch and greater pitch modulation. Pet-directed speech (PDS), which has been mainly studied in dogs, shares some acoustic features with infant-directed speech (IDS), used when talking to young children. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that adult humans also modify characteristics of their voice when talking to a cat. We compared acoustic parameters of speech directed to cats (CDS) and speech directed to adult humans (ADS). In a first experiment, we compared ADS and CDS utterances of male and female participants, addressing cats through video recordings, under controlled laboratory conditions. Both men and women used a higher pitch (mean fundamental frequency, or mean F0) in CDS vs. ADS. The second experiment was conducted under conditions allowing direct cat-human interactions, in a cohort of women. Once again, mean F0 was significantly higher in CDS vs. ADS. Overall, these data confirm our hypothesis that humans change the way they speak when addressing a cat, mainly by increasing the pitch of their voice. Further research is needed to fully investigate specificities of this speech.
• [hal-01478468] Motivation and Manipulation Capacities of the Blue and Yellow Macaw and the Tufted Capuchin: A Comparative Approach

  28 février 2017

  This study compared the motivation of the blue and yellow macaw (n = 8) and the tufted capuchin (n = 3) to manipulate objects that presented different features, their manipulative repertoires, and their ability to solve complex manipulation tasks. Results show that both species seem to be more motivated to manipulate objects that look like food items and that manipulative behavior may be considered as play behavior in the blue and yellow macaws, and would improve foraging motor skills. The tufted capuchins performed more different action styles than the macaws when manipulating objects, and performed substrate-use behavior - the object is put in relationship with a substrate - while the macaws did not. This is an interesting difference because these characteristics are supposed to be precursory of tool-use, behavior never observed in this macaw species. It may be due to the arboreal lifestyle of the macaw and its neophobic character that do not allow it to easily contact objects. Following the same method and using more individuals, further comparative studies should be conducted in order to test these hypotheses. Both species were able to solve complex manipulation tasks.
• [hal-01699823] Pet-directed speech draws adult dogs’ attention more efficiently than Adult-directed speech

  2 février 2018

  Humans speak to dogs using a special speech register called Pet-Directed Speech (PDS) which is very similar to Infant-Directed Speech (IDS) used by parents when talking to young infants. These two type of speech share prosodic features that are distinct from the typical Adult-Directed Speech (ADS): a high pitched voice and an increased pitch variation. So far, only one study has investigated the effect of PDS on dogs' attention. We video recorded 44 adult pet dogs and 19 puppies when listening to the same phrase enounced either in ADS or in PDS or in IDS. The phrases were previously recorded and were broadcasted via a loudspeaker placed in front of the dog. The total gaze duration of the dogs toward the loudspeaker, was used as a proxy of attention. Results show that adult dogs are significantly more attentive to PDS than to ADS and that their attention significantly increases along with the rise of the fundamental frequency of human' speech. It is likely that the exaggerated prosody of PDS is used by owners as an ostensive cue for dogs that facilitates the effectiveness of their communication, and should represent an evolutionarily determined adaptation that benefits the regulation and maintenance of their relationships. Humans speak to dogs using a special speech register called pet-directed speech (PDS) 1–4 , which is very similar to infant-directed speech (IDS) used by parents when talking to young infants. These two types of speech share prosodic and syntactic features that are distinct from the typical adult-directed speech (ADS): a high pitched voice, an increased pitch variation, short utterances, a reduced syntactic and semantic complexity, and word repetitions 1–5. PDS and IDS are also commonly described as 'happy voices' , in comparison to ADS presenting a relatively inhibited emotional content 6. Both speeches have been shown to vary according to the interaction context 7–9 , for instance PDS' prosodic features are enhanced in a positive reunion situation 9. Several studies suggest that IDS is used by humans in order to modulate infants' attention and state of arousal and to communicate their positive affect and intentions in a non-verbal way 10–14. IDS may also facilitate the emergence of language in infants by emphasizing the linguistic structure 15, 16 , for instance by using hyperaticulation of vowels 2, 3, 17 , or words repetition 18. Authors highlighted these functions in studying babies' preference for IDS toward ADS 19, 20 : infants have a longer fixation on, or turn more often the head toward visual targets that produced IDS 19. Infants also better remember and look longer at adults who have addressed them with IDS 20 , and this preference is present when IDS is produced by the infants' own mother as well as by an unfamiliar mother 12, 20. In addition, the exaggerated acoustic features of IDS elicit increased neural activity in infants, related to atten-tional processing 21. Infants also present increased social and affective responsiveness while listening to IDS compared to ADS 19. PDS and IDS may be similar because both infants and dogs are non-verbal listeners and because the affective bond between owners and dogs mirrors the human parents-infant bond. Indeed, both owners and dogs experience an important secretion of oxytocin after a brief period of cuddling 22 and a study highlighted common brain activation when mothers viewed images of both their child and dog 23. In the context of human-dog communication, there is evidence that dogs present an increased neuronal activity in the auditory cortex when listening to vocalizations with positive emotional valence compared to negative or neutral emotional valence 24. Moreover, after a greeting involving eye contact and a high pitched voice, dogs are more likely to follow the humans gaze, similarly to young children do 25, 26. Similarly, dogs are more motivated to answer a command to find hidden food in high-pitched informative than in low-pitched imperative trials 27 , suggesting that they are sensitive to the nonverbal quality of human vocal signals.
• [hal-04233451] Limb Preference in Animals: New Insights into the Evolution of Manual Laterality in Hominids

  28 mai 2024

  Until the 1990s, the notion of brain lateralization—the division of labor between the two hemispheres—and its more visible behavioral manifestation, handedness, remained fiercely defined as a human specific trait. Since then, many studies have evidenced lateralized functions in a wide range of species, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In this review, we highlight the great contribution of comparative research to the understanding of human handedness’ evolutionary and developmental pathways, by distinguishing animal forelimb asymmetries for functionally different actions—i.e., potentially depending on different hemispheric specializations. Firstly, lateralization for the manipulation of inanimate objects has been associated with genetic and ontogenetic factors, with specific brain regions’ activity, and with morphological limb specializations. These could have emerged under selective pressures notably related to the animal locomotion and social styles. Secondly, lateralization for actions directed to living targets (to self or conspecifics) seems to be in relationship with the brain lateralization for emotion processing. Thirdly, findings on primates’ hand preferences for communicative gestures accounts for a link between gestural laterality and a left-hemispheric specialization for intentional communication and language. Throughout this review, we highlight the value of functional neuroimaging and developmental approaches to shed light on the mechanisms underlying human handedness.
• [hal-00325423] Female canary mate preferences: differential use of information from two types of male-male interaction

  29 septembre 2008

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• [hal-04355854] Vocal performance during spontaneous song is equal in male and female European robins

  20 décembre 2023

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• [hal-05288877] Two Emotional Roots of Youths’ Earth-Friendly Career Aspirations: Eco-Anxiety and Empathy Toward Animals

  29 septembre 2025

  The present study examined the role of eco-emotions in youths’ career development. We hypothesized that eco-anxiety and empathy toward animals account for children’s and adolescents’ earth-friendly career aspirations (EFCAs). Relying on focus groups of third-to-ninth-grade French students, we used a thematic analysis to explore their view of careers that respect the earth. The main themes uncovered were used to construct a self-report EFCA scale. French third-to-ninth graders ( N = 587, 51% girls) from middle-to-high socio-economic levels participated in a survey assessing EFCA, eco-anxiety, and empathetic attitudes toward animals. The results showed that these two emotions made independent contributions to EFCAs. The EFCAs were lower in early adolescents than in children, and higher in girls than in boys. We propose that eco-emotions are adaptive and function as a “watchtower” by enhancing youths’ earth-friendly plans for their adult life. We discuss the relevance of taking EFCAs and eco-emotions into account in career counseling.
• [hal-04822765] Mechanical problem solving by plush-crested jays

  1 septembre 2025

  Tool use is taxonomically associated with high behavioural flexibility and innovativeness, and its prevalence is greater in primates and some bird species. This association, however, is not known to be causally determinant of tool-related competence since flexibility and innovativeness are often observed in the absence of tool use and vice versa. For this reason, it is interesting to explore whether animals that can be loosely categorized as outstanding, or ‘intelligent’ physical problem solvers, are also remarkable using tools innovatively, rather than tool use presenting special constraints. We investigate this problem using plush-crested jays (Cyanocorax chrysops), a corvid new to cognitive research that shows highly flexible and inquisitive behaviour in the wild and has not been reported to use tools. We tested jays in two tasks of apparent similar manipulative complexity and incentive, one involving a tool (T) and the other not (NT). In the NT task birds had to open a box with a transparent lid blocked by a latch to get a reward, whereas in the T task, they had to use a rake to pull out the reward from the box. Eight out of nine subjects succeeded in the NT task, whereas none of them learned to solve the T task. This is consistent with tool use involving dedicated competencies, rather than just high problem-solving proficiency.
• [hal-04559272] Vocal responsiveness of preterm infants to maternal infant-directed speaking and singing during skin-to-skin contact (Kangaroo Care) in the NICU.

  25 avril 2024

  Vocalizations of full-term newborns occur in a short latency time during the neonatal period. Contingent response time of preterm babies is still unknown. An increase of preterm babies’ vocalizations following exposure to parental speech was also observed. Mothers and babies co-modulate their vocalizations in preterm dyads. Purpose: To observe temporal features of maternal and infants’ vocalizations in speaking and singing conditions in preterm dyads. Methods: In a NICU mothers (N = 36) were invited to speak and to sing to their preterm infants during Kangaroo Care. Microanalysis of temporal units were performed with ELAN Software. Results and conclusions: Preterm infants vocalize less often while their mothers speak and sing than during baseline and their vocalizations tend to be more alternating in the speaking condition and more overlapping in the singing condition. It is also concluded that preterm infants take more time to respond to maternal speaking than to maternal singing.
• [hal-01704484] Le nouveau-né, un partenaire pour sa mère. Analyse du discours maternel

  8 février 2018

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• [hal-03235566] Quel développement psychomoteur et social des bébés en Maison d’Accompagnement Parents Enfants (MAPE) ? Une question partagée des MAPE et de la pédopsychiatrie périnatale

  22 juillet 2024

  Quel développement psychomoteur et social des bébés en Maison d'Accompagnement Parents Enfants (MAPE) ? Une question partagée des MAPE et de la pédopsychiatrie périnatale What psychomotor and social development of babies in the parent and childcare center? A shared question of parent and childcare centers and perinatal child psychiatry
• [hal-04246761] Langage adressé au bébé et exploration visuelle chez le bébé de 4,5mois : mise en évidence d’un effet de genre

  17 octobre 2023

  Background & aim. – Infant directed speech (IDS) is a simplified form of language known to capture infant visual attention. IDS is an early form of communication to which infants are particularly sensitive beginning at birth and play an essential part in the acquisition of language and in the development of social cognition. The present research aims at determining whether an infant as young as 4.5 months explores different face zones of a person talking to her when the form of speech employed is either IDS or adult directed speech (ADS). We wish to bring more insight in the relation between the way an adult talks to an infant and the infant’s visual attention, such a relation being a central tenet to understanding early interactions. Methods. – Eighteen 4.5 month-old infants were presented videos of a woman talking either IDS or ADS, each video played with and without soundtrack. The total time focused respectively on eye areas and mouth area was collected with an eye-tracking system (Tobii 2150). Results and conclusion. – Results showed evidence of more visual exploration when the soundtrack was played as opposed to silence while exploration focused more on the eye area. Moreover, interaction effects were observed involving a gender effect. These results raise the question of the importance of infant’s gaze and attention directed to the face, and specifically to the eyes of the partner. Indeed, eyes of a talking face seem of great importance at 4.5 months of age, i.e., long before an infant is known to be able to interpret a referential gaze. Our results also add to the gender effect differences found in early interactions between infant and social partners. A better understanding of what infant attention focuses on in a communication-oriented situation, including infant gender impact, would not only help to detect early parent-infant communication distortions but add to a more adapted and efficient clinical follow-up.
• [hal-05249036] Evaluation of the Factorial Structures of the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) in France

  10 septembre 2025

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• [hal-04462688] Foreign-local microdialect discrimination in a songbird, the black redstart

  16 février 2024

  Dialects have been described as geographical variations of vocal signals in several taxa such as humans, cetaceans, bats and birds. Many playback studies have focused on dialect perception by territorial birds, mainly reporting a stronger aggressiveness towards local dialects in comparison to foreign ones. However, exploration of the influence of several methodological factors is lacking, and very few studies have focused on species displaying microdialects (covering distances under 2 km). We investigated these issues in a migratory population of a territorial songbird, the black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros. In this species only males sing to defend their territories, and their distribution leads to several small groups of neighbours with a relatively high level of song sharing within each group. Using a playback experiment, we tested whether males were able to discriminate between the local and a foreign microdialect, while testing for the effects of their age class, the initial distance to the speaker, the relative acoustic similarity between the playback songs and songs of the tested birds and the order of the stimuli. We broadcast two acoustic stimuli (foreign and local microdialect) from unfamiliar individuals to 26 territorial males, during two breeding seasons. In line with our predictions, males showed a stronger response towards the local microdialect, spending more time in proximity to the speaker, in agreement with the escalation chain of aggression. Our results conformed to the previously reported trend in wide-spanning dialect species. We also showed that both the vocal response and the approach behaviours were influenced by the distance of tested males from the speaker at the beginning of the experiment. Males that were further from the sound source tended to sing rather than approach. More studies are needed to get a better understanding of discrimination abilities and their functions in microdialect species.
• [hal-05200672] Assessing flexibility in meaning and context in non‐human communication

  5 août 2025

  The concept of flexibility in communication is central to reconstructing the evolutionary history of language, and grappling with “contextual flexibility” in particular is pivotal to address implications for pragmatics‐first accounts of language evolution. Despite significant advances in the field, research is hindered by definitional inconsistencies and methodological gaps across modalities. We build on recent frameworks to propose further, detailed methods for studying contextual and functional variability, incorporating modality‐agnostic and standardised terminology to facilitate cross‐species comparisons. Our approach includes a detailed classification of communicative contexts and outcomes, offering practical methods to disentangle context from function and meaning. By integrating insights across behavioural ecology and comparative psychology, we aim to enhance the comparability of findings and provide a robust foundation for exploring the evolutionary trajectory of communicative flexibility and pragmatics.
• [hal-05240651] Association Between Parental Social Position and Childhood Overweight: Mediation by Lifestyle and BMI Patterns During Pregnancy

  4 septembre 2025

  In high-income countries, children born to parents with low socio-economic position (SEP) or with non-Western ethnicity are disproportionally affected by obesity as early as preschool age. We assessed how much of these associations were mediated by parental lifestyle and BMI patterns during pregnancy. We characterised 5-6 years old children with or without overweight from the French Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) (n = 8584) and the Dutch Generation R birth cohorts (n = 6511). We used counterfactual mediation analyses to assess the potential mediating effect of previously identified lifestyle patterns: "high parental smoking, poor-quality maternal diet and sedentary behaviour" and "high parental body mass index and low gestational weight gain". Both patterns jointly mediated 62.8% of the association between parents' education level and childhood overweight in ELFE and 23.2% in Generation R. In Generation R, they jointly mediated 8.9% of the association between parents' geographic origin and childhood overweight. In ELFE, parents with non-Western backgrounds were less likely to follow the first pattern, resulting in a negative indirect effect. Parental lifestyle and BMI patterns during pregnancy seem key contributors to the early development of socio-economic inequalities in childhood overweight, while other yet unidentified factors may contribute to inequalities related to geographic origin. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
• [hal-04498355] Social patterning of childhood overweight in the French national ELFE cohort

  11 mars 2024

  Abstract An inverse social gradient in early childhood overweight has been consistently described in high-income countries; however, less is known about the role of migration status. We studied the social patterning of overweight in preschool children according to the mother’s socio-economic and migration background. For 9250 children of the French ELFE birth cohort with body mass index collected at age 3.5 years, we used nested logistic regression to investigate the association of overweight status in children with maternal educational level, occupation, household income and migration status. Overall, 8.3% (95%CI [7.7–9.0]) of children were classified as overweight. The odds of overweight was increased for children from immigrant mothers (OR 2.22 [95% CI 1.75–2.78]) and descendants of immigrant mothers (OR 1.35 [1.04–2.78]) versus non-immigrant mothers. The highest odds of overweight was also observed in children whose mothers had low education, were unemployed or students, or were from households in the lowest income quintile. Our findings confirm that socio-economic disadvantage and migration status are risk factors for childhood overweight. However, the social patterning of overweight did not apply uniformly to all variables. These new and comprehensive insights should inform future public health interventions aimed at tackling social inequalities in childhood overweight.
• [hal-04681106] Outil numérique innovant à destination des jeunes S/sourds et des jeunes malentendants (ONISE) : un questionnaire en ligne sur leur épanouissement relationnel

  13 septembre 2024

  L’objectif de cette étude transversale est d’investiguer l’épanouissement relationnel de jeunes S/sourds et de jeunes malentendants français au sortir de l’adolescence. Compte tenu de l’inexistence d’un outil adapté et accessible pour recueillir l’avis de ces jeunes, le préalable à cet objectif a été la construction d’un auto-questionnaire en ligne, élaboré dans le cadre d’un appel à projet. Pour le recueil des données, nous avons eu recours au questionnaire en ligne, à des observations participantes en établissements pour les S/sourds, de même qu’à des focus groupes de jeunes sourds et de jeunes malentendants dans ces établissements. Les résultats obtenus sur 40 jeunes, âgés de 18 à 25 ans, montrent que leur épanouissement relationnel en termes de qualité de vie, de participation sociale et d’humeur dépressive n’est pas très éloigné de l’épanouissement relationnel d’autres jeunes S/sourds d’origine différente ou de jeunes français entendants. L’accessibilité de l’outil est globalement satisfaisante même si les observations et les analyses des échanges issus des focus groupes mettent en évidence des difficultés d’accès à certaines questions.
• [hal-02543956] Differences in auditory and physiological properties of HVc neurons between reproductively active male and female canaries ( Serinus canaria )

  15 avril 2020

  Based on neuronal recordings in the HVc, this study investigated differences between reproductively active male and sexually receptive female canaries. It is the first study to describe auditory responses and cell characteristics of HVc neurons in female songbirds and to compare them with the responses and characteristics obtained in males. Extracellular single unit recordings showed that in males HVc cells exhibited two types of auditory responses to conspecific and heterospecific song playbacks: tonic and phasic responses. The major finding of the present study is the absence of tonic responses in females. Neurons in the HVc of females only responded phasically to song playbacks. In both sexes, neurons exhibiting auditory responses had thinner action potentials than the others. As all the tonic cells recorded in males were thin spike cells (action potential < or = 0.6 ms) [corrected] and had high firing rates (6 Hz in average), they are potentially interneurons. In both sexes, two categories of nonresponsive cells were found: neurons that did not fire at song onset and had the lowest spontaneous firing rate; and neurons that did not exhibit changes in activity in response to song playbacks. Analyses of physiological characteristics of HVc neurons revealed that the rate of spontaneous activity was higher in males than in females. This study is a first step towards identifying [corrected] the cellular bases of the sexual dimorphism in HVc function and highlights the pivotal role of interneurons in HVc auditory processing.
• [hal-04389963] Can Infants Generalize Tool Use From Spoon to Rake at 18 Months?

  12 janvier 2024

  Infants start to use a spoon for self-feeding at the end of the first year of life, but usually do not use unfamiliar tools to solve problems before the age of 2 years. We investigated to what extent 18-month-old infants who are familiar with using a spoon for self-feeding are able to generalize this tool-use ability to retrieve a distant object. We tested 46 infants with different retrieval tasks, varying the tool (rake or spoon) and the target (toy or food). The tasks were presented in a priori descending order of difficulty: rake–toy condition, then either spoon–toy or rake–food, and finally spoon–food. Then, the same conditions were presented in reverse order to assess the transfer abilities from the easiest condition to the most difficult retrieval task. Spontaneously, 18-month-old infants performed the retrieval tasks better with the familiar tool, the easiest task being when the spoon was associated with food. Moreover, the transfer results show that being able to use a familiar tool in an unusual context seems necessary and sufficient for subsequent transfer to an unfamiliar tool in the unusual context, and that early and repetitive training of self-feeding with a spoon plays a positive role in later tool use.
• [hal-00087299] Estimating the complexity of bird song by using capture-recapture approaches from community ecology

  21 juillet 2006

  [...]
• [hal-01101807] Assessing vocal performance in complex birdsong: a novel approach

  9 janvier 2015

  [...]
• [hal-01480086] Sociality Enhances Birds' Capacity to Deal with Anthropogenic Ecosystems

  1 mars 2017

  Urban species often adjust their behavior to survive in urban environments, characterized by the proximity of humans, habitat fragmentation and heterogeneous, fluctuating ecological resources. Several hypotheses have been put forth to explain how species manage living in heterogeneous and complex anthropogenic habitats. The ability of individuals or species to beneficially modify their behaviors in response to changes in the environment has indeed been alternatively explained based on phylogenetic, adaptive, and ontogenic arguments. In this study we investigated the role of sociality as a driver of behavioural flexibility in urban birds. Sociality can be defined as the tendency to associate with conspecifics or form a group and may influence a species' ability to survive in an urban ecosystem to the extent that it represents advantages to species or individuals in terms of resource exploitation, fitness, and predation risk-avoidance. Given the potential benefits of sociality we hypothesized that sociality is a further characteristic that may explain how species have successfully expanded their range into urbanized areas. Based on this hypothesis, we predicted that pigeons (Columba livia) will show higher behavioural flexibility when in larger groups, whatever their genetic background and living-circumstances. Using pigeons as a model system, we compared 27 groups in France and Italy composed of four different genetic strains and varying living-conditions: free-living feral pigeons in urban areas, free-living domestic pigeons at the property of a local breeder captive, feral pigeons in a French ecological field station, captive domestic pigeons in an Italian ecological station. We tested two standardized behavioral measures of behavioural flexibility: thresholds for fear or neophobia and rates of problem solving. We found that group number affects neophobia and to a lesser extent problem-solving, suggesting that sociality is a factor enhancing birds' faculties to establish in and cope with heterogeneous urban environments. We consider this hypothesis here as compatible and complementary to existing hypotheses on species' adaptation to urban ecosystems.
• [hal-04767165] Is That You I Hear? Speaker Familiarity Modulates Neural Signatures of Lexical-semantic Activation in 18-month-old Infants

  5 novembre 2024

  Abstract Developmental language studies have shown that lexical-semantic organization develops between 18 and 24 months of age in monolingual infants. In the present study, we aimed to examine whether voice familiarity facilitates lexical-semantic activation in the infant brain. We recorded the brain activity of 18-month-old, French-learning infants using EEG while they listened to taxonomically related and unrelated spoken word pairs by one voice with which they were familiarized with before the experiment, and one voice with which they were not familiarized. The ERPs were measured in response to related and unrelated target words. Our results showed an N400 effect (greater amplitudes for unrelated as opposed to related target words) over the left hemisphere, only for the familiar voice, suggesting that the voice familiarity facilitated lexical-semantic activation. For unfamiliar voices, we observed an earlier congruence effect (greater amplitudes for related than for unrelated target words). This suggests that although 18-month-olds process lexical-semantic information from unfamiliar speakers, their neural signatures of lexical-semantic processing are less mature. Our results show that even in the absence of personal relation with a speaker, familiarity with a voice augments infant lexical-semantic processing. This supports the idea that extralinguistic information plays a role in infant lexical-semantic activation.
• [hal-01702136] Heaven It's My Wife! Male Canaries Conceal Extra-Pair Courtships but Increase Aggressions When Their Mate Watches

  6 février 2018

  [...]
• [hal-04672457] Human-dog trust and cohesion within French military canine teams

  19 août 2024

  Studies on the relationships and interactions within human-dog teams in the French Army are scarce. In order to better understand this subject, a qualitative exploratory study was undertaken by conducting semi-structured interviews with dog handlers (n = 16). The interviewees work in the French Army. They are specialized in the detection and neutralization of individuals or explosives. Thematic analysis identified different themes: trust within the team, doubts, interspecific cohesion, and care provided to the dogs. The results highlight the importance of trust within the canine team. It is conceived as a dynamic, constructed process, based on experience, and involving both members of the team. It emerges that trust arises from individual, relational, technical, and experiential factors: the bonds formed, knowledge of one’s dog, difficulties related to technical aspects, the reliability of the dog following training, and mission successes. Kindness, support, and mutual protection are also important criteria. A form of interspecific cohesion is envisaged by experienced handlers when affection, knowledge, reliability, mutual assistance, and support are present.
• [hal-04532112] Working with dogs in olfactory searches in the French Armed Forces and national Police Forces

  4 avril 2024

  This study aims to investigate the relationships and cooperation within human-dog teams working in olfactory search in the French Armed Forces and in national Police Forces. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were carried out with canine handlers. The main topic concerned working with their dog during olfactory searches. Among the themes that stand out are relationships with their dog and canine knowledge and practices. Minor differences and similarities between dyads of the two institutions are identified in human-dog relationships. Regarding relationships with dogs, two main differences are linked to the long missions abroad experienced by Armed Forces handlers and the possibility of welcoming dogs into their homes for Police Forces. The constitution of canine knowledge and practices is rooted in experiences and transactions with dogs, but also in social transmission. Even though there is no major differences between the two institutions, this study highlights the interest of having a situated approach.
• [hal-03177576] Auditory perception of self and others in zebra finches: evidence from an operant discrimination task

  3 juillet 2025

  Vocal communication is essential for social interactions in many animal species. For this purpose, an animal has to perceive vocal signals of conspecifics and is often also required to discriminate conspecifics. The capacity to discriminate conspecifics is particularly important in social species in which individuals interact repeatedly. In addition, auditory perception of self plays an important role for vocal learners. A vocal learner has to memorise vocalisations of conspecifics and to subsequently modify its own vocalisations in order to match the memorised vocalisations. Here, we investigated auditory perception of self and others in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), a highly gregarious songbird species and vocal learner. We used laboratory colonies in which founder males had been previously trained to produce the same song type. This resulted in artificial dialects in the song of founders and their offspring. We investigated whether those birds would be able to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics based on song. Furthermore, we examined whether they would classify their own song as familiar or unfamiliar. We found that birds were able to discriminate between songs of familiar versus unfamiliar conspecifics, despite the fact that all songs were imitations of the same song type. This suggests that such discrimination is possible even based on songs with a high acoustic similarity. None of the subjects classified their own song as unfamiliar. Three out of eight males classified their own song as familiar. Thus zebra finches might recognise their own song. Further experiments are needed to confirm such self-recognition.
• [hal-01682389] Exposure to human voices has beneficial effects on preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit

  12 janvier 2018

  [...]
• [hal-04931213] Ségrégation de sexe et socialisation entre élèves de collège au Cameroun. Filles et garçons à part mais en accord sur la répartition des rôles sexués.

  5 février 2025

  Le premier objectif était de savoir si à l’adolescence les relations entre élèves camerounais étaient marquées par la ségrégation de sexe. Le deuxième consistait à analyser dans quelle mesure les réputations de dominance et de prosocialité rendaient compte de l’acceptation sociale. 358 élèves de collège ont répondu à un questionnaire. Devant citer leurs préférés, ils ont choisi majoritairement des condisciples de leur sexe. Chez les filles les réputations de prosocialité et de dominance contribuent à l’acceptation sociale, chez les garçons seule leur réputation de prosocialité y contribue. On obtient les mêmes résultats en se centrant sur les citations provenant des pairs de même sexe. Ces résultats sont interprétés dans le contexte des rôles sexués au Cameroun.
• [hal-04931960] Adolescents' sociosexual orientation is related to attachment to their same-sex parent

  6 février 2025

  We set out to show that sociosexual orientation (SSO) and erotophilia are two different traits that can be evidenced as early as middle adolescence, and to examine their associations with attachment to parents. Self-report scales measuring SSO, erotophilia, and attachment to the mother and the father were administered to 289 12- to 17-year-olds. Based on an exploratory factor analysis, SSO and erotophilia are two different, consistent dimensions in this age range. A six-month test-retest revealed a moderate-to-high rank-order stability of the two traits, which were positively and moderately correlated. Boys scored higher than girls on both traits. During the six-month interval between T1 and T2, erotophilia increased whereas SSO did not change. Regression analyses showed that a positive perception of attachment to the same-sex parent among boys accounted for SSO, regardless of perceived attachment to the other-sex parent. This held true for girls also, but to a lesser extent. In the discussion, we emphasize the differences between boys' and girls' mating behavior, and the differences between attachment to same-sex vs other-sex parents as possible influences on SSO.
• [hal-01478434] Variation in Reproductive Success Across Captive Populations: Methodological Differences, Potential Biases and Opportunities

  28 février 2017

  [...]
• [hal-01478453] Climat scolaire, problèmes de comportement et résultats scolaires des élèves : une analyse multi-niveaux

  28 février 2017

  à venir

ACTUALITES

2023/06/30 - Articles de Johana Ryšavá

• Infants can distinguish between sounds of different bird species, as discovered at the University of Nanterre
• Why should we fight for the education of our children?

2022/04/07 - Michel Kreutzer, sur France Culture (du 04/04/2022 au 07/04/2022 - disponible en podcast en intégralité dès le lundi après la diffusion du premier épisode), dans l'émission LSD -  Série documentaire "L'intelligence du vivant", de Franck Bessière, réalisée par Anne Fleury
1er épisode - "Définir le vivant" « Depuis pas mal d'années, on se rend compte que les êtres vivants, les organismes, notamment les vertébrés supérieurs, les oiseaux, les mammifères, recherchent également ce qui est source de plaisir. Un vivant, c'est donc aussi un être qui recherche des plaisirs et qui essaie d'éviter les déplaisirs. C'est une des raisons sans doute pour laquelle aujourd'hui, on donne tant d'importance à la souffrance animale et qu'on estime que l'on doit se donner des règles éthiques dans nos relations avec les animaux. »
2ème épisode - "L'humain un vivant d'exception"
3ème épisode - "Dans la tête des animaux" « Les émotions entrent pleinement dans les études éthologiques, qui ne se limitent donc plus seulement aux comportements. »
4ème épisode - "Le génie du vivant"

2022/03/30 - Michel Kreutzer, au Musée du Quai Branly - Université populaire 2021/2022, Thème 2 : Le corps - "L'"apprendre animal" : comment le savoir se transmet et s'apprend chez les animaux" 
2021/12/07 - Rana Esseily, Carla Aimé, Dalila Bovet et Maya Gratier, à la Philharmonie de Paris - Colloque "Pédagogie du chant choral" - "Résultats de l'étude scientifique -  impacts sur les capacités psychosociales, les apprentissages scolaires et le bien-être des enfants" (10h20)
https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/fr/activite/colloque/23002-pedagogie-du-chant-choral
2021/10/26 - Michel Kreutzer, sur France Inter, dans l’émission "Grand bien vous fasse" - "Autour des ‘Folies animales'"
2021/10/13 - Michel Kreutzer interviewé par Caroline Lachowski, sur RFI , dans l'émission "Autour de la question" - "La folie est-elle le propre de l’homme ?"
2021/10/11 - Rana Esseily sur France Culture, dans l'émission "La méthode scientifique" - "Rire : c’est du sérieux!"
2021/03/28 - Michel Kreutzer, interviewé par Octave Larmagnac-Matheron, dans Philosophie magazine - "Zoopsychiatrie : À la découverte des folies animales"
2021/03/25 - Michel Kreutzer, invité de l’association CVA (Connaissance et Vie d’Aujourd’hui) de Lille - Conférence "Éthologie : sommes-nous tous des bêtes ?"


ARCHIVES TELE / RADIO
2017/10/26 : France Infos junior - "Que se passe-t-il dans la tête des bébés ?"
2017/03/26 : France Inter - "Les Savanturiers" - en direct du salon du livre (à partir de 40 min 20) pour la promotion de La science à Contrepied paru aux éditions Belin.
2017/04/12 : France 3 - Le monde de Jamy : "Ces animaux si proches de nous"
2015/01/02 : France 5 - C dans l'air : "Mon chat est-il une personne ?"
2014/07/07 : France culture - Les matins d'été, 2ème partie : Les invités culture/Idées. "Malin comme un corbeau", avec deux éthologues Agatha Lievin-Bazin et Valérie Dufour (à partir de la 98ème minute).
2013/06 : NBC News - "Finches sing like birds and their dad taught them how"
2014/04 : France Culture - "L'intelligence du perroquet"
2013/10 : France Culture - Emission Continent Science : "L’homosexualité animale" (audio 54').
Cité des sciences et de l'industrie - Cycle de conférences Universciences "Corps et esprit : indissociables" : "Accéder à la vie subjective des animaux" - Michel Kreutzer.
2012/12 : The Telegraph "Parrot listens to Scissor Sisters' music".
2012/12 : France 5 - Emission "On n'est pas que des cobayes" : "Les éléphants ont-ils peur des souris".
2011/05 : France Inter - Emission "Vivre avec les bêtes", 29 mai :  http://www.franceinter.fr/em/vivre-avec-les-betes/105163 (05/2011)

ARCHIVES PRESSE ECRITE
2019/11/30 : The Economist - Male nightingales spend the winter practising.
2019/11/26 : New Scientist - Nightingales practise new songs in winter to impress mates in spring.
2017/03 :  Sciences Psy - Le tempo de notre quotidien - Et si nous prenions le temps ?, pp.30.
2014/12 : Santé magazine, n°469 sur l'empathie.
2014/09/03 : BMC - The unheard message of larksong.
2014/06 : JDD - L'intelligence des corbeaux
2013/11 : JDD - Comment les oiseaux apprennent-ils à chanter ?
2012/03&04 : Cerveau&Psycho - Le perroquet mentaliste.
2011 : Le Pigeon en Ville - La vie sociale du pigeon Bizet.
2011/12 : Le Républicain Lorrain - Les pigeons sont physionomistes.
2011/08 : Futura Sciences -  Les canaris font leur show... et s'adaptent à leur public !
2011/08 : Les Echos - Le perroquet, une langue et un cerveau.
2011/05 : BBC News - Parrots choose to work together.
2011/05 : Maxisciences - Intelligence du perroquet gris : collaboration et personnalité.
2011/05 : PhysOrg - Parrots display teamwork and decision-making skills.
2009/04 : Science Actualité, Universciences - Des piafs malins comme des singes.
2005/02 : BBC News - Sleep helps birds sing better.
A good night's sleep helps young birds master the art of singing, but only after a rather groggy start, Nature magazine has reported.
Savoirs Essonne - Masculin/féminin : le genre existe-t-il chez les animaux ?

Contribution de Laurent Nagle : "Les lions et les lionnes : des prédateurs aux moeurs parfois surprenantes" et  "L'antiquité gréco-romaine : un foyer d'anti-spécistes avant l'heure ?"
Le lion dans le pourtour méditerranéen sous la direction de Margaux Spruyt et Véronique Vassal - journées d'études du 11 & 12 mai 2023 à l'Institut Catholique de Paris. Editions du Cerf, janvier 2025