Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
1979
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Psychology
Advisor
Steven J. Ellman
Committee Members
Anneliese Riess
Gilbert Voyat
Subject Categories
Psychology
Abstract
Twenty mothers and their 3-month-old male infants were studied in an attempt to isolate and describe some of the motivational components that contribute to infant gaze. Infants were videotaped in two conditions: playing with mother and playing with a female stranger. The videotapes were then analyzed on a second-by-second basis with respect to infant gaze and a variety of maternal/stranger behaviors. Results show that infants spend more time gazing at the stranger than at mother and that looks at the stranger are of much longer duration. In addition, high levels of infant gaze tend to be associated with facial and vocal expressiveness in the infant's partner, and with the assumption of an intermediate position vis a vis the infant.
These findings are discussed in the context of the infant's growing capacity to discriminate between his mother and others. Since this process points to the existence of memory, it is suggested that by 3 months, gazing in the infant may have a number of motivational components, including previous experience with that object.
Recommended Citation
Alfasi-Siffert, Goldie, "Mother and Infant at Play: Reciprocity in Gazing Behavior" (1979). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4393
Comments
Digital reproduction from the UMI microform.