Sandra Trehub (May 21, 1938 — January 20, 2023) was a Canadian psychologist recognized for her research in thepsychology of music. She completed her PhD inpsychology atMcGill University, and subsequently joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology atUniversity of Toronto Mississauga, where she spent her entire career.[1]
Trehub conducted research on the development ofauditory perception among infants and young children. She also conducted research on the impacts of singing to infants in the course of caregiving.[2] In one study, Trehub and colleagues demonstrated that infants who were sung to stayed settled for twice as long compared to when those who were spoken to.[3][4][5]
Trehub died on January 20, 2023.[1] She was awarded the Society for Music Perception and Cognition Achievement Award in 2013. The citation for the award stated that Trehub's "pioneering and seminal research in developmental music cognition has been a crucial contribution" to thepsychology of music.[citation needed]
Trehub, Sandra E. (1976). "The Discrimination of Foreign Speech Contrasts by Infants and Adults".Child Development.47 (2):466–472.doi:10.2307/1128803.JSTOR1128803.
Trehub, Sandra E.; Bull, Dale; Thorpe, Leigh A. (1984). "Infants' Perception of Melodies: The Role of Melodic Contour".Child Development.55 (3):821–30.doi:10.2307/1130133.JSTOR1130133.PMID6734320.
Trainor, Laurel J.; Trehub, Sandra E. (1992). "A comparison of infants' and adults' sensitivity to Western musical structure".Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.18 (2):394–402.doi:10.1037/0096-1523.18.2.394.PMID1593226.
