University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The Role of Infant Locomotor Onset in Shaping Mother-Infant Communication

Zumbahlen, Marcia Renee

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Description

Title
The Role of Infant Locomotor Onset in Shaping Mother-Infant Communication
Author(s)
Zumbahlen, Marcia Renee
Issue Date
1997
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
  • Sarah Mangelsdorf
  • Peggy Miller
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Health Sciences, Human Development
Language
eng
Abstract
This study examines the relation between infant locomotor onset and emotional communication during prohibition scenes. Forty-one infants were videotaped at home with their mothers when the infants were 6 and 8 months of age. At 6 months all infants were pre-locomotor. At 8 months 23 infants were creeping on hands and knees; 18 had no creeping experience. Results indicated that the number of prohibitions infants received increased following creeping onset, particularly in distal contexts. Mothers of crawling infants more frequently used distraction and negative affect to regulate their infants' unacceptable behavior than mothers of non-crawling infants. This difference in maternal behavior corresponded with the tendency for crawling infants to more frequently reference their caregivers and express intense negative affect. Group differences in infant temperament were also noted with higher activity ratings at 6 months relating to earlier locomotor onset. It appears that infant creeping onset may interact with infant temperament to reorganize the relation between the infant and the ecology such that new means of emotional communication appear. It is within a parent-infant-environment system that behavior regulation, emotion regulation, and a sense of self develop.
Graduation Semester
1997
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/82234

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