The still-face effect in Chinese and Canadian 3- to 6-month-old infants

Studies conducted in China examining cross-cultural differences in 3- to 6-month-olds used the still-face paradigm. In each study, 20 infants were in the experimental group (normal, still-face, normal interactions) and 20 in the control (3 normal periods). In Study 1, infants interacted with either their mother or their father; they looked and smiled less to the still-face of both parents. In Study 2, infants interacted with both their mother and a stranger, with order counterbalanced. Experimental groups showed similar still-face effects to both adults. The control group responded similarly to the stranger in both orders but responded less to their mother when she interacted 2nd. The data were compared with archival data from Canadian infants. Although Chinese infants took longer to begin smiling, responding was similar in both cultures, despite differences in mothers' behavior: Chinese mothers played with the infants' arms; Canadian mothers played with the legs.