Interpersonal synchrony is associated with infants' reactions to subtle changes in caregiver-infant interactions

Author(s)
Gabriela Markova, Trinh Nguyen
Abstract

The present study examined the role of interpersonal synchrony between mothers and their 4-month-old infants (N = 40) in infant responses to a modified interaction where mothers continually looked and verbalised towards but did not engage with their children. During a natural interaction we observed behavioural synchrony and for a subsample of infants (n = 20) measured change in their salivary oxytocin from before to after the natural interaction. During the modified interaction we observed infant gaze, positive, and negative affect. We found that higher interpersonal synchrony was related to longer infants’ social gaze and shorter displays of negative affect during the modified interaction. Increase in infant oxytocin was also associated with longer gaze, but also longer negative and shorter positive affect during the modified interaction. Our results show that interpersonal synchrony allows infants to notice changes in interactions with others, but also helps them to regulate their emotions during such modified exchanges. These findings thus indicate the importance of synchrony experiences with caregivers for the development of early regulatory capacities.

Organisation(s)
Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology
Journal
Social Development
Volume
32
Pages
581-597
No. of pages
17
ISSN
0961-205X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12646
Publication date
2022
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
501005 Developmental psychology
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Developmental and Educational Psychology, Sociology and Political Science, Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/interpersonal-synchrony-is-associated-with-infants-reactions-to-subtle-changes-in-caregiverinfant-interactions(7f625659-2bf7-448c-ae7d-8098af3f3f16).html