Studies and Experiments
Still Face Experiment
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Edward Tronick developed the Still Face paradigm in the 1970s while working with T. Berry Brazelton on infant behavioral assessment. A caregiver plays normally with their infant, then suddenly adopts a blank, unresponsive expression for a short period, before resuming normal interaction, letting researchers observe how infants respond to a sudden loss of social responsiveness from a caregiver.
Facts
Key FindingWhen a caregiver suddenly adopts a blank, unresponsive face, infants make repeated bids to re-engage them, smiling, pointing, reaching, before withdrawing and showing physical and emotional distress; normal interaction and the infant's positive affect both recover once the caregiver resumes responding. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Edward Tronick
Wikimedia FoundationResearch sectionQuote, Research section
Recent studies have found that four-month-old infants, when re-exposed to the Still Face two weeks after the first time, show rapid physiological changes that were not present when they were exposed to it the first time.
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