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The influence of attachment representation on parental perception and interpretation of infant emotions: A multilevel approach
Author(s) -
Spangler Gottfried,
Maier Ursula,
Geserick Barbara,
von Wahlert Angelika
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.20441
Subject(s) - psychology , moro reflex , perception , developmental psychology , valence (chemistry) , facial expression , arousal , disgust , cognitive psychology , social psychology , reflex , anger , communication , neuroscience , physics , quantum mechanics
The aim of the study was to investigate parental perception and interpretation of infant emotional expression depending on their attachment representation. Forty‐six parents' responses to infant pictures depicting positive, neutral, and negative emotions were assessed on the level of affective judgments (valence, arousal), mimic responses (facial muscle activity), and of the eyelid reflex (using the startle paradigm). Results revealed small differences between parents of different attachment representations with respect to their subjective evaluations. However, secure parents, as compared to insecure ones, showed a positive bias in their mimic responses to infant pictures. The modulation of the startle response indicated a negative evaluation of negative infant emotion expressions in dismissing parents, while an augmentation of the startle response to negative infant emotions could not be observed in secure and preoccupied parents. The findings highlight the role of attachment experiences for emotional information processing in parents and its consequences for parental behavior. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 411–423, 2010.