Final answer:
The developmental psychology experiment is testing how monolingual and bilingual babies react to Mandarin language sounds they may not have been exposed to yet, testing theories of linguistic determinism, cognitive development, and stage theories of language acquisition.
Step-by-step explanation:
Language Acquisition in Monolingual and Bilingual Infants
The experiment being described deals with the phenomena of linguistic determinism and touches upon how language may influence cognition and perceptual interpretation of stimuli. In the developmental psychology experiment where 7-month-old monolingual English and bilingual (English and Mandarin) babies are exposed to sounds exclusive to the Mandarin language, predictions are centered around the babies' ability to recognize or respond to these sounds based on their early language exposure. This prediction is informed by evidence that suggests language acquisition begins prenatally, and infants display advanced auditory discrimination skills within the first year of life which are influenced by the linguistic environment surrounding them. Infants typically show a preference for their mother's voice and can distinguish between the language spoken by their mother and other languages. Moreover, they initially can discriminate among all phonemes of human languages, a skill that narrows around the age of one to those phonemes present in their environment.
Stage theories of development propose that certain developmental milestones, such as language milestones, are achieved in a uniform sequence across different cultures. For example, the act of babbling precedes the uttering of the first words regardless of the child's cultural background. However, the specific auditory stimuli and language exposure in a child's environment can affect the rate of language acquisition and the development of language-specific perceptual abilities.
It is also interesting to note the cultural differences in language use and cognitive processes as demonstrated by how English and Mandarin speakers perceive and discuss the concept of time. The study by Boroditsky (2001) shows that Mandarin speakers have a quicker response in recognizing temporal relationships when prompted with vertical cues, suggesting that language habits do indeed shape cognitive habits. Such evidence could predict that bilingual babies exposed to Mandarin sounds may demonstrate different auditory discernment compared to their monolingual counterparts, highlighting the deep connection between language exposure and cognitive outcomes. The experiment with the 7-month-old babies might potentially reveal key insights into the cognitive development stages and how bilingualism shapes them.