Tronick and colleagues investigated how infants respond when normal social interaction with a caregiver breaks down. In the still-face procedure, each mother took part in two three-minute episodes with her infant, separated by a 30-second break: in one episode she interacted normally, smiling and responding; in the other she faced her infant but kept her face still and unresponsive. During the still-face episode, infants typically tried to get the mother's attention with smiles and gestures, and when this failed they became distressed, looked away, and showed signs of withdrawal. The researchers concluded that even young infants expect and actively seek responsive social interaction, and that disrupting this mutual exchange is distressing, highlighting the importance of reciprocity in early social and emotional development.
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References: Tronick, E., Als, H., Adamson, L., Wise, S. and Brazelton, T. B., 1978. 'The infant's response to entrapment between contradictory messages in face-to-face interaction.' Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 17(1), pp. 1 to 13. source adapted.
Discuss the following study with reference to two or more of the following concepts: bias, causality, measurement, and/or responsibility.
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Tronick et al.’s still-face study can be discussed particularly well through the concepts of causality, measurement and responsibility, with bias also relevant when considering how far the findings can be generalised. Overall, the study is strong in showing that a breakdown in reciprocal interaction leads to infant dis