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Self or (M)other? Infants' Sensitivity to Bodily Overlap With Their Mother Reflects Their Dyadic Coordination
Lara Maister1,2, Lilla Hodossy1, Manos Tsakiris1,3
1Royal Holloway, University of London.
Child Development
|April 3, 2020
Summary
Infants show sensitivity to bodily synchrony with their mother, not strangers. This early self-other bodily overlap is crucial for developing intersubjectivity and the sense of self.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Neuroscience
- Infant research
Background:
- Adults report greater self-other bodily overlap in romantic relationships.
- The mother-infant bond is close, but mutual bodily representations are understudied.
- Understanding early bodily self-awareness is key to intersubjectivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate infants' sensitivity to bodily synchrony with their mother.
- To explore the link between bodily overlap and dyadic coordination in infancy.
- To support theories of intersubjectivity and the developing bodily self.
Main Methods:
- 21 infants (6-8 months) participated.
- Infants viewed their mother's or a stranger's face being stroked.
- Synchronous vs. asynchronous stroking of the infant's and viewed face was presented.
Main Results:
- Infants preferred synchronous stroking when viewing their mother's face.
- This preference was not observed with a stranger's face.
- Stronger synchrony preference correlated with less naturalistic coordination with the mother.
Conclusions:
- Infants are sensitive to bodily synchrony with their mother.
- This sensitivity reflects dyadic coordination.
- Findings support intersubjectivity theories of the developing bodily self.
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