Some Observations on Attention and Arousal in the Human Infant

Stechler, Gerald; Latz, Elizabeth

doi:10.1016/s0002-7138(09)62098-7

Cited by 112 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This phenomenon of disengagement difficulty has been reported frequently (see, e.g., Aslin & Salapatek, 1975;Hood et al, 1996;Hopkins & van Wulfften Palthe, 1985) and has been referred to as "sticky fixation" (Hood, 1995) or "obligatory attention" (Stechler & Latz, 1966). As infants grow older, the frequency and speed of shifts of gaze from a stimulus to a target which appears in the periphery increase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Associations between the developmental trajectories of visual scanning and disengagement of attention in infants

Hunnius

Geuze

Geert

2006

Infant Behavior and Development

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Associations between the developmental trajectories of visual scanning and disengagement of attention in infants

Hunnius

Geuze

Geert

2006

Infant Behavior and Development

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“…If the interaction with the mother has been stressful, can the infant "repair" with the stranger, or does the interaction remain difficult? Similar to the assessment with the mother, I assess whether the infant with the stranger is capable of sustained gazes with a look-look away cycle, rather than "obligatory attention" (Stechler & Latz, 1966) or avoidant patterns. Can the infant display a range of positive to negative affect with the stranger (vs. "neutral" face, inhibited vocalization, or extensive negative expressions)?…”

Section: Microanalyses Of Early Face-to-face Interactions and Clinicamentioning

confidence: 99%

Brief mother–infant treatment: Psychoanalytically informed video feedback

Beebe

2003

Infant Mental Health Journal

147

100

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Specific patterns of interactive regulation documented by microanalytic methods of infant research can be applied to clinical interventions with mothers and infants. A brief treatment model is described that includes face-to-face split-screen videotaping (one camera on each partner) and therapeutic observation of the videotape with the parent. The intervention uses "video feedback" informed by a psychoanalytic approach, including positive reinforcement, modeling, and information giving, as well as interpretation, while watching the videotape. Specific interactions in the areas of attention, arousal, affect, and timing regulation are evaluated. The psychoanalytic intervention links the "story" of the presenting complaints, the "story" seen in the videotape, and the "story" of the parent's own upbringing. An attempt is made to identify specific representations of the baby that may interfere with the parents's ability to observe and process the nonverbal interaction. The mother's powerful experience of watching herself and her baby interact, and our joint attempts to translate the action-sequences into words, facilitates the mother's ability to "see" and to "remember," stimulating a rapid integration of the mother's procedural and declarative modes of information-processing. One treatment case, involving six contacts, is presented to illustrate the approach. By applying the specificity of interactive regulation identified by microanalysis of videotape into the psychodynamic treatment of mother-infant pairs, basic research can be translated into clinical practice.RESUMEN: Patrones específicos de regulación interactiva, documentados por medio de métodos microanalíticos de investigación infantil, pueden aplicarse a intervenciones clínicas con madres e infantes. Se describe un breve modelo de tratamiento, el cual incluye una grabación en vídeo, cara a cara y con la pantalla dividida (sendas cámaras se enfocan en cada uno de los participantes), así como la observación terapéutica del vídeo con la madre. La intervención usa las reacciones al vídeo explicadas por medio de un acercamiento sicoanalítico, incluyendo un reforzamiento positivo, modelos, cómo dar información, así como la interpretación, mientras que se está mirando el vídeo. Se evalúan interacciones específicas en las áreas de atención, despertar, afecto y la regulación del tiempo. La intervención sicoanalítica entrelaza la historia de la presentación de las quejas, la historia vista en el vídeo, y la historia del propio crecimiento de la madre. Se hace un intento por identificar representaciones específicas del bebé que pudieran interferir con la habilidad de la madre de observar y procesar la interacción no verbal. La poderosa experiencia de la madre que se observa a sí misma interactuando con su bebé, y nuestros intentos conjuntos de traducir la secuencia de acciones a palabras, facilita la habilidad de la madre de "ver" y de "recordar," lo cual estimula una rápida integración de las maneras de procesar la información que la madre posee, tanto de p...

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“…Around the post term age of 6 weeks, alongside the appearance of social smiling, periods of gazing at the parent's face become more extended (Rochat & Striano, 1999;Trevarthen, 1979). Around that age, when the parent initiates an interaction and captures the attention of the young infant, it is frequently described that the attention of the infant will be 'hooked' on the parent (Brazelton, Koslowski, & Main, 1974), which is also referred to as obligatory looking (Stechler & Latz, 1966), reflecting the infant's difficulty in disengaging from something or someone once engaged with it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gaze aversion during social interaction in preterm infants: A function of attention skills?

Schuymer

Groote

Desoete

et al. 2012

Infant Behavior and Development

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Preterm infants avert their gaze more often and for longer periods in early social interactions compared to full term infants. In previous studies this finding is interpreted as being a function of the higher degree of parental stimulation that is often found in parents of preterm children. The current study explores an additional hypothesis. Since the development of general visual attention abilities is found to be less optimal in preterm children, it is possible that less optimal maturation of attention abilities partially explains the elevated gaze aversion in a social context. Therefore, the current study investigated the association between gaze aversion in a social context and the ability to disengage and shift visual attention in a non-social context in 20 preterm and 42 full term infants aged 4 and 6 months. Results confirm that preterm infants are slower to shift their attention in a non-social context and that they avert their gaze more often in a social context compared to full term children.Furthermore, more frequent gaze aversion during social interaction at 6 months was related to longer disengagement and the shifting of attention at 4 and 6 months, but only within the preterm group. The results suggest that attention maturation is less optimal in preterm children; this can be observed in a non-social as well as a social context. Less attention maturation in preterm children can negatively influence the amount of time they can stay actively involved in social interaction.

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Some Observations on Attention and Arousal in the Human Infant

Cited by 112 publications

References 2 publications

Associations between the developmental trajectories of visual scanning and disengagement of attention in infants

Associations between the developmental trajectories of visual scanning and disengagement of attention in infants

Brief mother–infant treatment: Psychoanalytically informed video feedback

Gaze aversion during social interaction in preterm infants: A function of attention skills?

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