Evaluating the Nature of the Still-Face Effect in the Double Face-to-Face Still-Face Paradigm Using Different Comparison Groups

The current study explored two possible comparison groups for the double Face-to-Face Still-Face (FFSF) paradigm to evaluate their effects on infant behavior and different hypotheses about the nature of the Still-Face (SF) effect, an effect not fully understood. Mothers and their 4-month-old infants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, a double FFSF group (Group(FFSF), n=44), a control, semi-structured play group (Group(Story), n=46), or a control, unstructured play group (Group(Play), n=28). As hypothesized, Group(FFSF) infants exhibited the classic SF response (decreased positive affect and gaze to mother; increased negative affect) and Group(Play) infants showed an increase in negative affect over episodes. Contrary to expectations, Group(Story) infants displayed a similar, but less intense, pattern of behavior as Group(FFSF). Taken together, the findings indicate that multiple episodes of face-to-face play exceeded 4-month-olds' regulatory capacities and that infants are sensitive to shared communicative intentions andviolations of social expectations, whether these violations are negative or positive in nature.