The Effects of Positive Maternal Affect on Infant Responses to Pleasant, Ambiguous, and Fear-Provoking Toys

GUNNAR, MEGAN R., and STONE, CHERYL. The Effects of Positive Maternal Affect on Infant Responses to Pleasant, Ambiguous, and Fear-provoking Toys. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 1231-1236. 48 infants, 24 boys and 24 girls, aged 12-13 months, were observed responding to 3 toys: 1 pleasant toy, 1 ambiguous or strange toy, and 1 aversive toy. The infants experienced 2 trials with each toy. On 1 trial their mothers displayed positive affect; on the other trial their mothers displayed neutral affect. The order of maternal condition was counterbalanced. Maternal affect had no effect on infant reactions on the first trial with each toy. On the second trial, positive maternal affect resulted in more positive infant responses, but only for the ambiguous toy. No significant effects of maternal affect were found on either trial for the pleasant or fear-eliciting toys. These data provide support for the hypothesis that infant social referencing may be fairly specific to ambiguous stimuli and can also be viewed as indicating that under some circumstances infants try to process ambiguous events on their own before becoming responsive to their mother's evaluation of those events.