Tactile stimulation as a component of social interchange: New interpretations for the still‐face effect

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to isolate the effect of touch as a component of mother‐infant interaction in the still‐face (SF) paradigm and to determine the impact of adult touch on infant affect and attention. In Expt 1 it was established that the amount of maternal touching which occurred during the normal periods of the SF procedure was greater than 65 per cent for 3‐, 6‐, and 9‐month‐olds. In Expts 2 (cross‐sectional) and 3 (longitudinal), the SF no‐touch period was compared with a SF period where mothers could touch their 3‐ to 9‐month‐olds. Infants who received touch while their mothers were still‐faced smiled more, grimaced less, and were more content relative to infants receiving the standard SF, no‐touch procedure. Adult touch proved to be an interactive component which, in isolation, reduced the SF effect by eliciting infants' positive affect and directing their attention toward the mothers' hands. The relevance of this work for better comprehension of early infant social interaction and new interpretations of the SF effect are discussed.