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Direction of Regard and the Still‐Face Effect in the First Year: Does Intention Matter?
Author(s) -
Striano Tricia
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00687.x
Subject(s) - psychology , interpersonal communication , developmental psychology , face (sociological concept) , eye contact , social contact , interpersonal relationship , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy
In the first study, 3‐, 6‐, and 9‐ month‐olds' behavior was assessed as a stranger broke contact to stare at the infant, to look at a wall, or to look at another person. Regardless of age and the reason contact was broken, the still‐face reaction did not depend on the experimenter's intention. In the second study, 3‐, 6‐, and 9‐month‐olds interacted with their mother who broke contact to look away for no apparent reason or in the direction of a sound. Infants at all ages responded to the still‐face episode, but not as a function of the underlying reason contact was broken. The findings suggest a primacy of interpersonal communication in the first year.