Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

Robust stability and physiological correlates of infants' patterns of regulatory behavior in the still-face paradigm

Miguel Barbosa1, Marjorie Beeghly2, João Moreira1

  • 1Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa.

Developmental Psychology
|September 29, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Infant regulatory behavior patterns, identified in the face-to-face still-face (FFSF) paradigm, show remarkable stability from 3 to 9 months. These patterns correlate with infants' heart rate responses, indicating organized physiological regulation.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Infant Behavior and Development
  • Physiological Psychology

Background:

  • The face-to-face still-face (FFSF) paradigm is a key tool for assessing infant social-emotional regulation.
  • Previous research has focused on discrete infant behaviors, but the stability of broader regulatory patterns over time remains under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the stability of three infant regulatory patterns (social-positive, distressed-inconsolable, self-comfort) from 3 to 9 months using the FFSF paradigm.
  • To investigate the correlation between these regulatory patterns and infants' heart rate variability during FFSF episodes.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study involving 112 healthy, full-term infants and their mothers.
  • Videotaping infants in the FFSF paradigm at 3 and 9 months of age.
  • Scoring infant regulatory patterns using the Coding System for Regulatory Patterns in the FFSF and assessing heart rate levels.

Main Results:

  • The social-positive-oriented pattern was the most common at both 3 and 9 months.
  • A robust stability (Cohen's κ = .72) of regulatory patterns was observed between 3 and 9 months.
  • Infants with social-positive patterns showed heart rate recovery, while distressed-inconsolable infants exhibited increased heart rate, and self-comfort infants showed no change during reunion phases.

Conclusions:

  • Infants display organized and stable regulatory patterns as early as 3 months of age.
  • These early regulatory patterns are maintained over a 6-month period.
  • Infant regulatory patterns are associated with distinct physiological responses, as evidenced by heart rate changes during the FFSF paradigm.

More Related Videos

Measuring Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Activity in Toddlers - Resting and Developmental Challenges08:22

Measuring Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Activity in Toddlers - Resting and Developmental Challenges

Published on: February 25, 2016

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood08:09

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Facial Feedback Hypothesis01:24

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Charles Darwin proposed that facial expressions are an evolutionary adaptation for communication. He argued that these expressions are not influenced by culture but are universal across species. For example, a snarling expression with exposed teeth signals a threat in many animals, including humans. Darwin also suggested that displaying an emotion can intensify the feeling. Smiling, for example, could enhance one's sense of happiness. This idea laid the foundation for understanding the role of...
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that physical...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...