| Abstract: | Forty-eight mothers and their 5.5-month-olds participated in a series of face-to-face interactions consisting of a Normal plus three still-face (SF) periods where mothers could touch their infants (SF with touch). The primary objective was to determine whether young infants are sensitive to subtle changes in maternal touch. Variations in infants' affective and attentional responses were revealed as a function of the different periods; infants smiled more when mothers were requested to maximize their smiling using touch alone, and gaze shifted from mothers' faces in the Normal period to their hands in the SF with touch periods. Results imply that: (1) infants are sensitive to subtle changes in their mothers' touching, (2) mothers are effective in using touch to elicit specific infant responses, (3) touch-only interactions are positive, as reflected in infants' gaze and affective displays, (4) mothers use consistent types of touch when touching specific areas of their infants' bodies during brief interactions. |
