Effects of Maternal Responsiveness on Infant Responsiveness and Behavior in the Still‐Face Task

The effects of maternal responsiveness on infant responsiveness and behavior in the Still‐Face Task were longitudinally examined through infants' first 3 months. Maternal vocal responsiveness and infant vocal and smiling responsiveness significantly increased when infants were 2 months of age. Mothers showed continuity of individual differences in vocal responsiveness from the infants' newborn period. Maternal responsiveness predicted infant responsiveness within and across sessions. Compared with infants with low‐responsive mothers, infants with high‐responsive mothers were more attentive and affectively engaged during the Still‐Face Task from 1 month of age. Infants with high‐responsive mothers discriminated between the task phases with their smiling at 1 month, a month before infants with low‐responsive mothers did so. Infants in both groups discriminated between the phases with their attention and nondistress vocalizations throughout their first 3 months. Results suggest that maternal responsiveness influences infant responsiveness and facilitates infants' engagement and expectations for social interaction.     

The Influence of Maternal Socialization on Infants’ Social Evaluation in Two Cultures

Although a growing body of research has explored the early development of social evaluation, no research has directly compared social evaluations of infants between different cultures. In addition, there has been little understanding regarding socialization's effects on this ability. The goal of this study was to expand on earlier findings on social evaluation in infants by investigating a broader sample from two cultures, and to explore the influence of maternal socialization on infants’ social evaluation. Using the violation of expectations and the preferential reaching paradigm, four groups aged 6‐, 9‐, 12‐, and 15–18 months and their mothers from Japan and the United States (159 dyads) were compared in terms of spontaneous social evaluations. Japanese and European American infants showed similar performance in dishabituation to the inconsistent behavior and in their reaching preference for prosocial over antisocial agents, indicating that the emergence of spontaneous social evaluation is not culture‐specific. Furthermore, our study provides a novel finding regarding the relationship between mothers’ socially evaluative speech and infants’ preference for prosocial over antisocial agents. These results suggest that the development of sociomoral understanding results from complicated interactions among evolutionary, cognitive, and social factors.     

Evaluating the Nature of the Still‐Face Effect in the Double Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face Paradigm Using Different Comparison Groups

The current study explored two possible comparison groups for the double Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face (FFSF) paradigm to evaluate their effects on infant behavior and different hypotheses about the nature of the Still‐Face (SF) effect, an effect not fully understood. Mothers and their 4‐month‐old infants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, a double FFSF group (Group_FFSF, n = 44), a control, semi‐structured play group (Group_Story, n = 46), or a control, unstructured play group (Group_Play, n = 28). As hypothesized, Group_FFSF infants exhibited the classic SF response (decreased positive affect and gaze to mother; increased negative affect) and Group_Play infants showed an increase in negative affect over episodes. Contrary to expectations, Group_Story infants displayed a similar, but less intense, pattern of behavior as Group_FFSF. Taken together, the findings indicate that multiple episodes of face‐to‐face play exceeded 4‐month‐olds' regulatory capacities and that infants are sensitive to shared communicative intentions and violations of social expectations, whether these violations are negative or positive in nature.     

Behavior of Mothers and Infants With and Without Down Syndrome During the Still‐Face Procedure

There has been limited study of how the constitutional characteristics of infants with Down syndrome (DS) influence the patterning of their relations with caregivers. To assess natural and perturbed interactions between infants with DS and their mothers, we tested ten 6‐month‐old infants with DS and 20 typically developing (TD) 4‐month‐old of similar mental age. Participants were videotaped with their mothers in a natural face‐to‐face interaction, a brief period when the mothers adopted a still‐face, and a subsequent reengagement phase. There was little to distinguish the infants in the initial phase of natural interaction, but the mothers of infants with DS were more likely to show assertive warmth, and unlike in the case of mothers of TD infants, high maternal directiveness tended to be associated with lower levels of infant looking and lack of fussing. During the still‐face episode, infants of both groups showed reduced looking and smiling, although infants with DS tended to show lower levels of fussing and fewer in this group showed fussing in the reengagement phase. Therefore DS infants were somewhat similar to TD infants of comparable mental age in being responsive to the still‐face procedure, but showed indications of group differences in intense emotional reactivity.     

Things Still To Be Done on the Still‐Face Effect

Adamson and Frick (2003/this issue) have written a fine and challenging review of the research on the still‐face. Of special value is their placement of the face‐to‐face still‐face (FFSF) paradigm in a historical framework, which permits us to see how much about the still‐face effect and infant functioning we have learned in the past 30 years. Their review led me to think about several issues. First was the issue of whether or not to standardize the FFSF paradigm. Second, Adamson and Frick argue the still‐face put the “infant's reaction in a new interpretive frame,” but it is a reaction that still challenges our “understanding of young infants' social, emotional, and cognitive capacities.” Thus, I would like to discuss explanations of the still‐face effect. Last, I discuss some suggestions for further research. For an elaborated version of this article, additional archival material is located at http:www.infancyarchives.com .     

Cross‐Task Stability in Infant Attention: New Perspectives Using the Still‐Face Procedure

Infant visual attention has been studied extensively within cognitive paradigms using measures such as look duration and reaction time, but less work has examined how infant attention operates in social contexts. In addition, little is known about the stability of individual differences in attention across cognitive and social contexts. In this study, a cross‐sectional sample of 50 infants (4 and 6 months of age) were first tested in a look duration and reaction time task with static visual stimuli. Next, their mothers participated with the infants in the still‐face procedure, a mildly distressing social interaction paradigm that involves violation of expectancy. Individual differences in looking and emotion were stable across the phases of the still‐face task. Further, individual differences in looking measures from the visual attention task were related to the pattern of looking shown across the phases of the still‐face procedure. Results indicate that individual differences in attentional measures show moderate stability within cognitive and social contexts, and that the ability of infants to shift and disengage looks may affect their ability to regulate interaction in social contexts.     

The Still‐Face Effect: Methodological Issues and New Applications

Over the last 25 years, the seemingly simple still‐face phenomenon has elicited a tremendous amount of empirical and theoretical work. Adamson and Frick (2003/this issue) provide a comprehensive review and in‐depth analysis of this large body of research. In our commentary, we focus on 3 major points. First, we described several methods to define operationally the still‐face effect. Second, we noted the important role of adult touch in the still‐face procedure, and that the effect can be reproduced without adult touch, by live, televised and “virtual” adult faces–‐making it a true “still‐face” effect. Third, we emphasized a major methodological strength of the still‐face procedure: the use of multiple response measures. By measuring both infant visual attention and affect responses, adaptations of the still‐face procedure provide infant researchers with a powerful general method for studying the development of infant social competence.     

The Relation between Mothers' Mirroring of Infants' Behavior and Maternal Mind‐Mindedness

Maternal mind‐mindedness, which is a measure of maternal mentalization involving mothers' speech, was examined as a predictor of mothers' mirroring of infant behavior during interaction. Five‐month‐old infants and their mothers engaged in a Still‐Face Task in which the mother's mirroring of the infant's behavior was assessed. After the task, the mother was shown a video of her infant in the task and asked to comment on what was happening for her infant; her comments were assessed for mind‐mindedness. Maternal mind‐mindedness when mothers were asked to reflect upon what was happening for their infants during the task predicted mothers' mirroring behaviors while engaged with their infants in the task. Maternal mirroring behavior may be a manifestation of maternal mentalization that is salient to infants.     

Prenatal Reflective Functioning and Accumulated Risk as Predictors of Maternal Interactive Behavior During Free Play,the Still‐Face Paradigm,and Two Teaching Tasks

This study examined whether prenatal reflective functioning (RF) was related to mothers’ interactive style across contexts with their 6‐month‐old infants (M age = 6.02 months, SD = 0.41, 54% boys), and to what extent quality of prenatal RF could account for the influence of accumulated risk on maternal interactive behavior. Accumulated risk was defined as the sum‐score of a selection of risk factors that have been associated with suboptimal infant development. Mother–infant dyads (N = 133) were observed during free play, two teaching tasks, and the Still‐Face Paradigm (SFP). Better prenatal RF was associated with more positive maternal behavior in all settings and less negative behavior during teaching and SFP reengagement. Accumulated risk and prenatal RF predicted shared variance in maternal interactive behavior (with unique predictive effects observed only for RF on sensitivity during teaching and SFP play, and for accumulated risk on sensitivity and positive engagement during SFP play, and internalizing‐helplessness during SFP reengagement). Accumulated risk had an indirect effect on maternal sensitivity during teaching and SFP play through prenatal RF. These findings suggest not only that RF may be targeted prenatally to improve mother–infant interactions, but also that enhancing RF skills may ameliorate some of the negative consequences from more stable perinatal risk factors that influence parent–child interactions.     

Additional Components of the Still‐Face Effect: Commentary on Adamson and Frick

Adamson and Frick (2003/this issue) provide an informative and often fascinating history of the still‐face paradigm and its applications in infancy research. With benefit of their review, one can identify several potentially important components of the still‐face paradigm that have been neglected in past research. These are the influence of the still face on parent and infant behavior during the reunion episode and expanded measurement of the still‐face effect to include theoretically important components of facial expression and the temporal organization of parent and infant behavior and physiology. In particular, by expanding what is meant by the still‐face effect to encompass aspects of the reunion episode, we may discover robust probes into the parent–infant relationship and individual differences in infant attachment and emotion regulation extending across infancy and childhood.     

Predicting Patterns of Regulatory Behavior in the Still‐Face Paradigm at 3 Months

The current study addressed two aims: (1) to describe different patterns of infant regulatory behavior during the Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face (FFSF) paradigm at 3 months of age and (2) to identify specific, independent predictors of these patterns from an a priori set of demographic, infant (e.g., temperament), and maternal (e.g., sensitivity) variables. Analyses were based on data collected for 121 mother–infant dyads assessed longitudinally in the newborn period and again at 3 months. In the newborn period, infants’ neurobehavior was evaluated using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) and mothers reported on their caregiving confidence and their newborns’ irritability and alertness. At 3 months, mothers reported on their infant's temperament, and mother–infant interactions were videotaped during free play and the FFSF. Three patterns of infant regulatory behavior were observed. The most common was a Social‐Positive Oriented Pattern, followed by a Distressed‐Inconsolable Pattern, and a Self‐Comfort Oriented Pattern. Results of multinomial logistic regression indicated that categorical assignment was not associated with demographic or infant characteristics, but rather with dyadic regulatory processes in which maternal reparatory sensitivity played a crucial role.     

Reunion Patterns in the Still‐Face Paradigm as Predicted by Maternal Sensitivity and Dyadic Coordination

Previous studies have suggested that the reunion episode of the still‐face procedure has the potential to reveal the regulatory resources of the mother–infant dyad that appear to be predictive of future adaptation. Nevertheless, differences across dyads with respect to these resources have received little attention, as also have the factors that are responsible for such differences. This study addresses this gap in the literature by testing whether the dyad reunion patterns can be predicted by the mothers' sensitivity assessed 3 months earlier, and by the contingent degree of the matched states in the play episode. Three dyadic patterns were identified through cluster analysis, which were characterized by playful, neutrally matched, and disrupted interactions. Multinomial logistic regression shows that the mothers' sensitivity predicts membership to the playful group, and the matched states in the play episode predict membership to the neutrally matched and disrupted groups. These findings show that the vulnerability to disrupt an ongoing interaction after a temporary perturbation is seen for only some dyads; moreover, they support the view of early regulatory development as a multidetermined achievement. Overall, these findings have important theoretical implications related to the identification of early regulatory difficulties as precursors of later developmental outcomes.     

Infants’ Biological Sensitivity to the Effects of Maternal Social Support: Evidence Among Mexican American Families

The identification of infants who are most susceptible to both negative and positive social environments is critical for understanding early behavioral development. This study longitudinally assessed the interactive effects of infant vagal tone (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and maternal social support on behavioral problems and competence among 322 low‐income Mexican American mother–infant dyads (infants: 54.1% female) and explored sex differences. Infant RSA was calculated from resting HR data at 6 weeks of age. Mothers reported on general social support, partner support, and family support at 6 months, and infant behavioral problems and competence at 1 year. Two‐way interactions (RSA × support source) were evaluated to predict behavioral problems and competence, adjusting for covariates. Results indicated higher competence among infants with lower RSA whose mothers reported higher general support or higher partner support. Interactive effects on behavior problems of RSA with maternal partner or family support were only found for female infants: Girls with higher RSA showed more behavior problems when mothers reported low support, but fewer problem levels in the context of high support. Our results suggest that infant RSA is an important moderator of the effects of the early social environment on early development.     

Very Preterm and Full‐Term Infants’ Response to Socio‐Emotional Stress: The Role of Postnatal Maternal Bonding

Very preterm (VPT) infants are at risk for altered socio‐emotional stress regulation, even in the absence of perinatal complications. Moreover, becoming a mother of a VPT infant is a traumatic event, which might affect the establishment of a bonding relationship toward the infant during the postnatal period. The main aim of the present study was to assess the association between maternal postnatal bonding and socio‐emotional stress response in 3‐month‐old VPT infants, compared to full‐term (FT) controls. Thirty‐three VPT and 28 FT infant‐mother dyads underwent the maternal Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face (FFSF) procedure to assess socio‐emotional stress regulation. Maternal postnatal bonding was measured through the Maternal Post‐Natal Attachment Scale (MPAS), which includes three scales: Quality of attachment, Absence of hostility, and Pleasure in interaction. The VPT infants exhibited less self‐directed and other‐directed regulatory behaviors during the Still‐Face episode. Mothers of VPT infants reported lower Quality of attachment compared to FT counterparts. Importantly, higher levels of Quality of attachment were associated with more other‐directed behaviors during the Still‐Face episode in FT dyads, whereas this was not observed in VPT dyads. In conclusion, VPT infants might be exposed to a double‐risk condition for socio‐emotional development, encompassing both difficulties in stress response and the exposure to a less‐than‐optimal maternal bonding.     

Background Television and Infants’ Allocation of Their Attention During Toy Play

The effect of background television on 6‐ and 12‐month‐olds’ attention during 20 min of toy play was examined. During the first or second half of the session, a clip from a variety of commonly available television programs was presented. The duration and frequency of infants’ looks to the toys and to the television indicated that regardless of age or program content, background television frequently got, but did not hold the infants’ attention. An order effect indicated that infants looked longer at the television when it was available in the second half of the session. Examination of infants’ focused attention to the toys showed a reduction in the mean length of focused episodes when the television was on. A follow‐up of the infants at 24 months indicated greater resistance to distraction by the television during play. Data from the three ages showed that individual differences in the amount of viewing were moderately stable across age and across home and lab contexts.     

Maternal Into‐The‐Face Behavior,Shared Attention,and Infant Distress During Face‐to‐Face Play at 12 Months: Bi‐directional Contingencies

We describe a new maternal intrusion behavior, moving a toy or hand “into‐the‐face” of the infant, and we investigate its bi‐directional associations with infant‐initiated shared attention, infant distress, and infant gaze, during mother–infant face‐to‐face play at 12 months. The play was videotaped split‐screen, with infants seated in a high chair. Videotapes were coded on a 1‐sec time base for mother and infant gaze (at partner, toy, both, or gaze away); infant distress; and maternal intrusion behavior, “into‐the‐face.” We defined “infant‐initiated shared attention” as mother and infant looking in the same second at a toy that the infant‐initiated interest in. We documented that maternal into‐the‐face behavior decreased the likelihood of infant‐initiated shared attention, increased the likelihood of infant distress, and decreased the likelihood of infant gazing away. Reciprocally, infant distress and gazing away increased the likelihood of mother into‐the‐face. In moments when the dyad was engaged in infant‐initiated shared attention, mother into‐the‐face was less likely. This work documents bi‐directional contingencies in the regulation of maternal intrusion and infant behavior during face‐to‐face play at 12 months. We suggest that mother into‐the‐face behavior disturbs an aspect of the infant's experience of recognition.     

The Development of Maternal Self‐Efficacy and Its Impact on Maternal Behavior

A developmental model of the origins of maternal self‐efficacy and its impact on maternal sensitivity was tested. Participants were 92 primiparous mothers and their 6‐month‐old infants. Mothers completed questionnaires about remembered care from their own parents and self‐esteem prenatally, satisfaction with support, infant temperament, and maternal self‐efficacy postnatally, and they participated in a laboratory observation with their infants. Maternal self‐efficacy was predicted by remembered maternal care as mediated by global self‐esteem. Infant soothability predicted maternal self‐efficacy independently and in conjunction with distress to novelty and in conjunction with both distress to limits and satisfaction with support. Maternal self‐efficacy interacted with distress to limits to predict maternal sensitivity during emotionally arousing activities. High infant distress was associated with less sensitive maternal behavior when maternal self‐efficacy was moderately low and extremely high, but was positively associated with sensitive maternal behavior when self‐efficacy was moderately high. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Neural Correlates of Encoding Predict Infants’ Memory in the Paired‐Comparison Procedure

The present study used event‐related potentials (ERPs) to monitor infant brain activity during the initial encoding of a previously novel visual stimulus, and examined whether ERP measures of encoding predicted infants’ subsequent performance on a visual memory task (i.e., the paired‐comparison task). A late slow wave component of the ERP measured at encoding predicted infants’ immediate performance in the paired‐comparison task: amplitude of the late slow wave at right‐central and temporal leads decreased with stimulus repetition, and greater decreases at right‐anterior‐temporal leads during encoding were associated with better memory performance at test. By contrast, neither the amplitude nor latency of the negative central (Nc) component predicted infants’ subsequent performance in the paired‐comparison task. These findings are discussed with respect to a biased competition model of visual attention and memory.     

Maternal Regulation of Daughters' Emotion During Conflicts From Early to Mid‐Adolescence

Primary caregivers play an important role in emotion socialization. Real‐time mother–daughter emotion socialization was examined in 45 mother–daughter dyads with early‐adolescent daughters (age M = 11.80, SD = .27) at the first observation point. Maternal supportive emotion regulation and daughters' emotions were coded during two conflict discussions, 2 years apart. With multilevel survival analysis, the likelihood of maternal supportiveness was predicted both over time, between early and mid‐adolescence, and by daughters' pubertal status. Mothers were more likely to respond to daughters' negative and positive emotions with supportiveness for daughters whose pubertal maturation occurred relatively early. Results suggest that mothers adjust their socialization of daughters' emotions according to their daughters' pubertal development.     

Maternal Disrupted Communication During Face‐to‐Face Interaction at 4 months: Relation to Maternal and Infant Cortisol Among at‐Risk Families

The study evaluated the association between maternal disrupted communication and the reactivity and regulation of the psychobiology of the stress response in infancy. Mothers and infants were recruited via the National Health Service from the 20% most economically impoverished data zones in a suburban region of Scotland. Mothers (N = 63; M age = 25.9) and their 4‐month‐old infants (35 boys, 28 girls) were videotaped interacting for 8 min, including a still‐face procedure as a stress inducer and a 5‐min coded recovery period. Saliva samples were collected from the dyads prior to, during, and after the still‐face procedure and later assayed for cortisol. Level of disruption in maternal communication with the infant was coded from the 5‐min videotaped interaction during the recovery period which followed the still‐face procedure. Severely disrupted maternal communication was associated with lower levels of maternal cortisol and a greater divergence between mothers' and infants' cortisol levels. Results point to low maternal cortisol as a possible mechanism contributing to the mother's difficulty in sensitively attuning to her infant's cues, which in turn has implications for the infant's reactivity to and recovery from a mild stressor in early infancy.