Four-month-olds Make Triangular Bids to Father and Mother During Trilogue Play with Still-face

Authors: Fivaz-Depeursinge, E.; Favez, N.; Lavanchy, S.; de Noni, S.; Frascarolo, F.

Source: Social Development, Volume 14, Number 2, May 2005 , pp. 361-378(18)

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Abstract:

A new observational procedure, Trilogue Play with Still-face, revealed 4-month-olds’ capacities to address both their fathers and mothers, by rapidly shifting gaze and affect between them. Infants were observed in four interactive contexts: (1) ‘3-together’ play with both parents; (2) ‘2 + 1’ play with one parent engaging and the other as third party; (3) the same, with one parent posing a still-face; (4) ‘3-together’ play. Infants were able to discriminate between the four contexts. They coordinated three social poles of attention in each one. Their affect configurations were context sensitive. These findings demonstrate the infant's social capacities for triangular, three-person interactions, in addition to dyadic, two-person, and triadic, two-person plus object, ones. They support a view of intersubjectivity as primary and point to a promising field of investigation for the study of family process.

Keywords: infant; triangular interactions; still-face; family process; intersubjectivity

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2005.00306.x

Affiliations: 1: University of Lausanne and University of Fribourg, Switzerland

Publication date: 2005-05-01