The influence of maternal sensitivity on monitoring of an abstract animation of social interaction

Maternal sensitivity influences the maternal working model of the way mothers act on their infant’s signals. In the current study we investigated if this working model also influences mother’s monitoring of an animation of social interaction. Forty mothers participated in the study with their twelve-month-old infants. Maternal sensitivity was observed during three episodes, using the Ainsworth’s Scales. Mothers watched animations while their eye-movements were registered by an eye-tracking apparatus. In the animation a mother-infant interaction was shown at an incline, in which a separation took place. The infant figure made crying or laughing sounds and at the end the larger figure either returned to the smaller figure or went uphill. We analysed the duration of fixations at the baby figure and overall fixations during the response segment. No effects for sensitivity were found, but mothers tended to look longer when the larger figure was unresponsive compared to responsive....Show moreMaternal sensitivity influences the maternal working model of the way mothers act on their infant’s signals. In the current study we investigated if this working model also influences mother’s monitoring of an animation of social interaction. Forty mothers participated in the study with their twelve-month-old infants. Maternal sensitivity was observed during three episodes, using the Ainsworth’s Scales. Mothers watched animations while their eye-movements were registered by an eye-tracking apparatus. In the animation a mother-infant interaction was shown at an incline, in which a separation took place. The infant figure made crying or laughing sounds and at the end the larger figure either returned to the smaller figure or went uphill. We analysed the duration of fixations at the baby figure and overall fixations during the response segment. No effects for sensitivity were found, but mothers tended to look longer when the larger figure was unresponsive compared to responsive. Mothers also looked significantly longer at the first four movies, compared to the second four movies. The results suggest that mothers’ looking behaviour at the animation is not affected by maternal sensitivity. This could be due to the relatively small sample or the classification of the low- and high sensitive groups. Another possibility is that the working model of sensitivity is not generalized to other interactions. More research in the future is needed on this topic.Show less

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The influence of maternal sensitivity on monitoring of an abstract animation of social interaction