Mothers' responses to infant physical appearance

Mothers' responses to slides of infants were assessed. During individual presentations of the slides they showed increases in smiling to infant photographs in general, but showed large skin conductance responses only to pictures of their own infant. They did not look differentially at the photographs. During paired presentations, mothers looked longer at their own infant's photograph. Moreover, they looked longer at unfamiliar infants who they perceived to be high in cuteness. These findings are discussed with reference to the role of infant physical appearance in infant-adult social relations.     

Contingency, imitation, and affect sharing: Foundations of infants' social awareness

Predictions about the role of contingency, imitation, and affect sharing in the development of social awareness were tested in infants during natural, imitative, and yoked conditions with their mothers at 5 and 13 weeks of age. Results showed that at both ages, infants of highly attuned mothers gazed, smiled, and vocalized positively more during the natural than during the imitative and yoked conditions, whereas they increased negative vocalizations during the yoked conditions. In contrast, infants of less attuned mothers did not differentiate between the conditions, except at 13 weeks when these infants increased their gazes during the imitative condition. Whereas contingency and imitation draw infant attention to conspecifics, affective communication appears to lay the foundation for infants' social awareness.     

Infant responses to maternal still-face at 4 and 9 months

This study investigated developmental changes in infant responses to maternal still-face (SF) situations. Infants (21 males and 25 females) of Japanese mothers were observed in a face-to-face SF paradigm, comprising four phases (normal/SF/normal/SF), at two infant ages (4 and 9 months). The infants' facial expression, gaze direction, and vocalization were coded in both SF and normal interaction conditions. The results indicated that infants at both ages showed a decrease in displaying positive facial expression and gazing at their mothers during SF conditions. The 4-month-old displayed emotional expression and directed their gaze toward their mothers more frequently than the 9-month-old. However, the 9-month-old vocalized more often in SF situations, attempting to elicit responses from their mothers. The "carry-over" effect was observed only in 9-month-old. The results were discussed in the context of developmental changes in infants' social skills to cope with an emotionally stressful situation.     

Maternal speech to infants at 1 and 3 months of age

The goal of this study was to assess maternal speech and in relation to changes in infant social behavior occurring around the second month post birth. Sixty infants interacted with their mother at 1 and 3 months of age in a face-to-face context. At 3 months, infants gazed, smiled, and positively vocalized significantly more than at 1 month. These findings point to a transition in infant social behavior at around the second month post birth. In addition, maternal speech to infants increased between these times in both amount and complexity, possibly in response to an increase in infant social behavior. Maternal speech was related to infant positive vocalizing at 3 months, suggesting mothers especially monitored infant vocalizing at 3 months. Individual differences in maternal speech were stable across visits.     

Infants' responses to mothers' imitative behaviors

Several investigators have suggested that young infants' smiles and vocalizations following their mothers' imitative behaviors might reflect infant recognition that the mother's behavior is imitative or at least contingent. This study investigated whether infants smile and vocalize more frequently subsequent to maternal imitative than non-imitative behavior during both spontaneous and imitative face-to-face interactions. Fourteen 3 1/2-month-old infants and their mothers were videotaped in these two face-to-face interaction situations. The infants vocalized more frequently during the imitative situation and infant vocalizations plus simultaneous smiling, and vocalizations occurred more often following maternal imitative than non-imitative behavior. Although these data suggest that infant vocalizations and simultaneous smiles and vocalizations may reflect the infants' recognition of maternal imitative behavior, they do not establish definitively that it is the imitation per se vs. the contingency aspect that is recognized by the infant.     

All smiles are positive, but some smiles are more positive than others

Disagreement as to whether all smiling or specific types of smiling index positive emotion early in life was addressed by examining when infants produced different types of smiling and other facial expressions. Thirteen infants were observed weekly from 1 to 6 months of age. Smiling alone--without cheek raising or mouth opening--was relatively more likely than periods without smiling both when mothers were smiling and when infants were gazing at their mothers' faces. Cheek-raise (Duchenne) smiling was relatively more likely than smiling alone only when mothers were smiling. Open-mouth (play) smiling was relatively more likely than smiling alone only when infants were gazing directly at mothers' faces. Smiling involving both cheek raising and mouth opening was relatively likely both when mothers were smiling and when infants were gazing at mothers' faces and became increasingly likely with age when both conditions co-occurred. The cheek-raise and open-mouth dimensions of smiling appear to be associated with, respectively, the amplification of processes of sharing positive affect and of visual engagement that are present to a lesser degree in smiling alone.     

Humour Perception and Creation between Parents and 3‐ to 6‐month‐old Infants

Humour and laughter are universal to the human psychological experience and have serious developmental and evolutionary implications. Despite the early emergence of laughter in infancy, infants have been largely ignored in the humour research and humour has been largely ignored in the infant research. The present study describes the emergence of humour perception and creation in a sample of 20 parent–infant dyads who were followed from ages 3‐to‐ 6 months. The study examined how infants discover that absurd nonverbal behaviour, known as ‘clowning’, is amusing in the context of social engagement with caregivers. Results indicate that parents primarily use clowning when attempting to amuse their infants and pair these behavioural absurdities with affective cues like smiling and laughing. As they got older, infants were more likely to laugh and smile in response to clowning. Infants' ability to create humor via clowning also increased with age, starting with simple shrieks at 3 months to imitating absurd actions by 5 months. These increases are partly potentially explained by accompanying increases in parental smiling, laughing and clowning in response to infant clowning. Future research should employ more diverse samples and experimentally investigate the role of parental affect and social referencing in infants' interpretation of absurd behavior. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of mother–infant interaction in tickling play: The relationship between infants’ ticklishness and social behaviors

This study examined the development of mother–infant tickling interaction and the relationship between infants’ ticklishness and social behaviors including infants’ looking at mothers’ face, mothers’ narrative tickling, and mothers’ laughter. Twenty-two Japanese infants aged 5 months (n = 10, five girls) and 7 months (n = 12, four girls) and their mothers were videotaped. Results revealed that the mothers’ narrative tickling was more frequent at 7 than at 5 months and the infants’ strong ticklishness showed the same tendency. The infants’ strong ticklishness was linked with the occurrence of other social behaviors. In conclusion, infants’ ticklishness was heavily connected with social behaviors. The mode of the tickling interaction at 7 months was different from that at 5 months especially in the increase of mother’s narrative tickling. A possible function of such mother’s narrative tickling to facilitate infant active communication at a higher cognitive level including anticipation, was discussed.     

Infant and maternal behaviors regulate infant reactivity to novelty at 6 months

Three issues were investigated: (a) the regulatory effects of presumed infant and maternal regulation behaviors on infant distress to novelty at 6 months, (b) stability of infant regulatory effects across contexts that vary in maternal involvement, and (c) associations and temporal dynamics between infant and maternal regulation behaviors. Participants were 87 low-risk infants and their mothers, observed at 6 months postpartum during infant exposure to novel toys. Contingencies derived from sequential analyses demonstrate that, by 6 months, some infants reduce their own distress to novelty by looking away from the novel toy or self-soothing, maternal engagement and support have comparable effects, and certain infant and maternal behaviors co-occur. Moreover, infants whose mothers engaged contingently when they looked away from the novel toy expressed less distress than comparable infants whose mothers did not. These findings implicate both infants and mothers in the development of emotion regulation during the infant's first year.     

Change in selectivity of infant social behavior between 15 and 30 weeks

Six infants were filmed at 15 and 30 weeks of age while alone as well as in the presence of an adult (mother or stranger) who interacted with the infant or remained passive. Judges viewing samples of infant behavior tried to identify the social context in which episodes of behavior had occurred. Signal detection analysis of ratings made by the judges showed that infant behavior at both ages varied in accord with whether or not an adult was present. The identity and interactional style of the adult had only limited influence on infant behavior at 15 weeks, but judges could readily establish from the behavior of 30-week infants whether the adult was interactive or passive. Mothers were no more accurate in their ratings of social context than other judges were, even when they were observing the behavior of their own infant. Measurement of specific infant behaviors showed that the presence of the adult at both ages and the interactional style of the adult at 30 weeks exerted selective influence over rates of looking and smiling by infants. Signal detection classification was more sensitive to social context variables than microanalysis, possibly because observers had access to complex behavioral configurations.     

Interaction behavior of infants and their dual-career parents

The behaviors of dual-career parents were compared in face-to-face interactions with their 8-month-old infants who attended on all-day infant nursery. Mothers, as compared to fathers, exhibited more frequent smiling, vocalizing, and touching with their infants. In turn, the infants spent a greater proportion of the interaction time smiling and being motorically active when they were interacting with their mothers versus their fathers.     

Some Personality Characteristics of the Culturally Disadvantaged

The relationship between sensitive maternal behavior and mother-infant vocalization during feedings was examined in an effort to determine this situational meaning of Ainsworth's concept of sensitivity. Ss were 28 white, middle-class mothers and their infants. Excerpts of home feedings videotaped at 6 and 9 months were coded for frequency of contingent vocal interaction and quality of vocal affect. Sensitive mothers were distinguished from insensitive mothers at each age period by differing vocal patterns. At 6 months, infants of sensitive mothers vocalized significantly less than did infants of insensitive mothers. Mothers in both groups responded to their infants' vocalizations equally as often. At 9 months, infants in both groups vocalized the same amount, while sensitive mothers vocalized more often in response to their infants than did insensitive mothers. The only significant difference in vocal affect was found in the greater positive affect among sensitive mothers at 9 months.     

Face-to-face interaction behavior across early infancy

Stability and change in mother-infant interaction behavior were assessed across early infancy. At 8 versus 4 months, the infants showed more smiling, vocalizing and motor-activity, and their mothers touched and moved their infants' limbs less often. Stability was noted only for infant distress-brow and mother's touching the infant. Although very few relationships were apparent between mother and infant behavior at 4 months, several maternal behaviors at 4 months were related to infant behaviors at 8 months, and several relationships were noted between maternal and infant behavior at 8 months.     

Infant–mother social referencing interactions: Description and antecedents in maternal sensitivity and infant irritability

The purpose of the study was to describe naturally occurring infant and maternal behaviours in terms of social referencing in a stranger wariness situation, and to explore antecedents to such behaviouts in early maternal sensitivity and infant irritability. One hundred and ten 10-months-old infants and their mothers were videotaped. Infant social referencing behaviour was defined as puzzled looks directed at mother's face after the infant had discovered the stranger. Almost half of the infants looked with a puzzled expression at their mothers immediately after discovering the stranger, and a majority of the mothers sent a positive message back to the infants. Twenty per cent of the infants never looked at their mothers and 20% of the mothers did not respond when their infants turned to them. Infants whose mothers had responded positively to the referencing look showed positive responses to the stranger to a higher degree than infants who did not reference or those who were not responded to. Antecedents to infant and mother interactive behaviours were sought in maternal sensitivity (general sensitivity, physical contact, responsiveness, intrusiveness, response to distress, and effectiveness in comforting) and in infant irritability as observed when the infants were 4 months old. It was found that infants who did not reference their mothers for information at 10 months had experienced less sensitive mothering 6 months earlier and had also shown more irritability.     

Learning how to learn from social feedback: The origins of early vocal development

Infants’ prelinguistic vocalizations reliably organize vocal turn-taking with social partners, creating opportunities for learning to produce the sound patterns of the ambient language. This social feedback loop supporting early vocal learning is well-documented, but its developmental origins have yet to be addressed. When do infants learn that their non-cry vocalizations influence others? To test developmental changes in infant vocal learning, we assessed the vocalizations of 2- and 5-month-old infants in a still-face interaction with an unfamiliar adult. During the still-face, infants who have learned the social efficacy of vocalizing increase their babbling rate. In addition, to assess the expectations for social responsiveness that infants build from their everyday experience, we recorded caregiver responsiveness to their infants’ vocalizations during unstructured play. During the still-face, only 5-month-old infants showed an increase in vocalizing (a vocal extinction burst) indicating that they had learned to expect adult responses to their vocalizations. Caregiver responsiveness predicted the magnitude of the vocal extinction burst for 5-month-olds. Because 5-month-olds show a vocal extinction burst with unfamiliar adults, they must have generalized the social efficacy of their vocalizations beyond their familiar caregiver. Caregiver responsiveness to infant vocalizations during unstructured play was similar for 2- and 5-month-olds. Infants thus learn the social efficacy of their vocalizations between 2 and 5 months of age. During this time, infants build associations between their own non-cry sounds and the reactions of adults, which allows learning of the instrumental value of vocalizing.     

A Comparison of Fathers' and Mothers' Involvement in Childcare and Stimulation Behaviors During Free-Play with Their Infants at 9 and 15 Months

Fathers and mothers of 87 firstborn infants completed a parental responsibility questionnaire; recorded accessibility and direct interaction time in caregiving, play, and outings; and were videotaped in a free-play session with their infants at 9 and 15 months of age. Analyses compared fathers' and mothers' involvement and interactive behaviors, and examined age-of-infant and gender-of-infant effects. At both times, fathers reported being less accessible to their infants and spending less time in direct interaction with them than did mothers. During times when both parents were available to the infant, fathers were less likely to provide basic care, but spent an equivalent amount of time in play and outings. Fathers in dual-earner families spent less time in accessibility, caregiving, and outings, but they engaged in as much play as mothers. Responsibility for disciplining the infant was rated as being equally shared amongst parents. During play, parents did not differ in the amount of physical contact, conventional play, nonconventional play, and attempts to direct the infant's attention. However, fathers vocalized less and made fewer requests than mothers. Differences between paternal and maternal involvement in childcare and stimulation behaviors are discussed with respect to infant age and infant gender.     

Development of Infant Positive Emotionality: The Contribution of Maternal Characteristics and Effects on Subsequent Parenting

The current study examined the influence of maternal characteristics on the development of infant smiling and laughter, a marker of early positive emotionality (PE) and how maternal characteristics and the development of infant PE contributed to subsequent maternal parenting. One hundred fifty‐nine mothers with 4‐month‐old infants participated. Maternal characteristics were assessed 4 months postpartum, infant smiling and laughter were assessed at 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months postpartum, and maternal negative parenting was assessed 18 months postpartum. Latent growth modelling was used to test hypotheses regarding the influence of maternal characteristics on the development of infant smiling and laughter, and the contribution of infant smiling and laughter to later maternal parenting. Higher maternal effortful control and PE predicted more initial infant smiling and laughter, whereas more maternal parenting stress predicted lower slopes of infant smiling and laughter. More frequent/intense symptoms of maternal depression predicted higher scores on a measure of negative parenting, whereas higher maternal PE and better effortful control predicted lower negative parenting scores. After accounting for maternal characteristics, higher intercepts and slopes of infant smiling and laughter predicted fewer reports of negative parenting practices. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maternal mind-mindedness over infants’ first three months

Maternal mind-mindedness refers to mothers’ ability to reflect upon their infants’ mental states and respond appropriately. The present study assessed mind-mindedness longitudinally from the newborn period to the infant age of three months. The study is the first to assess maternal mind-mindedness in the infant’s early life prior to three months (one week, one month, two months, three months). To measure maternal mind-mindedness, mothers’ speech to their infants is coded for mental state comments about the infants’ thoughts, desires, and emotions. Appropriate mind-minded comments are judged to accurately reflect the infants’ mental states; non-attuned mind-minded comments are judged to misinterpret the infants’ mental states. Mothers’ individual stability (rank order stability) and group level continuity (mean level of stability across the infant ages) were assessed. Mothers showed modest temporal stability in both appropriate and non-attuned mind-mindedness over the infants’ first three months. The continuity of mind-mindedness showed that appropriate mind-mindedness increased over the infant ages, but non-attuned mind-mindedness showed no change. In infants’ early lives, mothers’ ability to accurately interpret their infants’ mental states is enhanced as the mother-infant relationship develops and infants become more communicative partners.     

Bed-sharing, breastfeeding and maternal moods in Barbados

Bed-sharing among Barbadian mothers and infants was studied in relationship to maternal and infant characteristics. This prospective study followed 226 healthy, well-nourished mother–infant dyads at birth, 7 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum. At each age, approximately half of the infants shared the same beds as their mothers. Bed-sharing was associated with demographic characteristics, especially fewer home conveniences, and also maternal characteristics, including less information seeking by the mother and younger maternal age at first pregnancy. Bed-sharing was also associated with lower infant birth weights. Maternal moods were significantly correlated with bed-sharing, such that mothers who reported having more despair and anxiety were also more likely to sleep with their infants. Bed-sharing was also significantly associated with increased breastfeeding at all infant ages, but this relationship was no longer significant once the effects of maternal moods were controlled. This study emphasizes the importance of assessing maternal moods in studies evaluating the risk and benefits of bed-sharing.     

The effect of mother–infant skin-to-skin contact on infants’ response to the Still Face Task from newborn to three months of age

The effect of mother–infant skin-to-skin contact on infants’ developing social expectations for maternal behavior was investigated longitudinally over infants’ first 3 months. Infants with and without skin-to-skin contact engaged with their mothers in the Still Face Task at ages 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months. Infants with skin-to-skin contact began responding to changes in their mothers’ behavior with their affect at 1 month; infants without skin-to-skin contact did so at 2 months. At 3 months, infants with skin-to-skin contact increased their non-distress vocalizations during the still face phase, suggesting social bidding to their mothers. Skin-to-skin contact accelerated infants’ social expectations for their mothers’ behavior and enhanced infants’ awareness of themselves as active agents in social interactions.