Related Concept Videos
Attachment
53
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...
53
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
43.1K
Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships.
43.1K
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
32
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
Primary Temperament Types
32
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
583
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.
583
Imprinting
9.7K
Behavioral imprinting is observed in some newborn animals and occurs when they develop strong and specific attachments to another animal (usually a parent) following brief, early-life exposures. Offspring imprint onto parents within a brief period after birth or hatching; this time window is called the critical period. Once imprinting occurs, the bond established between the parents and their offspring is usually long-lasting.
9.7K
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
41
Adolescence is a pivotal period of identity formation, during which individuals begin to answer questions central to their sense of self, such as "Who am I?" and "Who do I hope to become?" Both parents and peers play critical roles in guiding adolescents through this complex developmental phase.
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....
41
You might also read
Related Articles
Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.
Sort by
Same author
Accuracy of Autism-Related TikTok Information in Italian: A Comparison Between Human Raters and Large Language Models.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders·2026
Same author
Neonatal Mimicry of Caregivers at Home: Feasibility of an Asynchronous Online Paradigm.
Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies·2026
How Still? Parent-Infant Interaction During the Still-Face and Later Infant Attachment.
Yeojin A Ahn1, Katherine Martin2, Emily B Prince3
1Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA.
Infant and Child Development
|February 10, 2025
Summary
Infant-parent interaction during the still-face episode (FFSF) is synchronous. Higher interaction levels predict disorganized infant attachment, suggesting it
More Related Videos
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
- Attachment Theory
Background:
- The Face-to-Face/Still-Face (FFSF) paradigm assesses infant-parent interaction.
- Infant-parent interaction may persist even when parents are unresponsive during the still-face episode.
- Previous research suggests a link between still-face interaction and attachment outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the nature of infant-parent affective synchrony during the FFSF still-face episode.
- To determine if the level of affective interaction during still-face predicts infant attachment security.
- To explore the role of irrepressible infant-parent interaction in early development.
Main Methods:
- Independently coded continuous affective valence of parents and 6-month-old infants during the FFSF still-face episode (N=73).
- Assessed infant attachment security at 15 months using the Strange Situation Procedure (n=66).
Main Results:
- A positive correlation was found between parent and infant affective valence, indicating synchronous interaction during still-face.
- Infants later classified as disorganized showed higher levels of affect interaction during the still-face episode compared to securely attached infants.
Conclusions:
- Affective interaction during the still-face episode is a measurable phenomenon.
- Still-face interaction is a potentially significant, yet unappreciated, predictor of infant attachment outcomes.
- These findings highlight the importance of assessing interaction dynamics within the FFSF paradigm.


