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Times-Advocate, 1982-03-17, Page 7Mother, baby relationships con be as varied as others Relationships between mothers and young babies are as varied as relation- ships between husbands and wives, according to psychologists at The University of Western Ontario. The mother-infant relationship may be even more complex than a husband -wife relationship if the long-term repercussions are considered, say Prof. Pederson and Prof. Greg Moran. The two believe it's inaccurate to think of mother-infant relationships as either loving or neglect- ful, good or bad, with very little variation in between. They maintain that even when a baby is four months old he has a personality which may or may not match well with his mother's. If the mother comes on too strong, the baby goes through a wide variety of gestures and facial ex- pressions to let her know. If the mother doesn't correctly interpret the signals, lear- ning when to leave the baby alone, both may get frustrated, setting up a chain reaction of misun- derstanding. On the other hand, if the mother ignores baby's signals for attention, the child may withdraw. During the first year of life a baby must gain the security he needs to take risks and explore the world and know that he will be comforted when he returns to mother. Babies who feel this security tend to grow up with a more positive outlook, Prof. Pederson says. Newborns are physically capable of making almost all of the 24 separate facial actions an adult can make, and from the time a baby comes into the world he practises using these ex- perssions to control his environment, the two psychologists have ob- served. During the first year of life babies learn gradually which expressions are appropriate to express their feelings and to get mum to respond to their needs. Since formal language isn't available until near the end of the first year, infants learn how to use sounds, facial expressions 'and movements to influence their mothers. The Western researchers and graduate student Philip Smith are attempting to learn by closely observing mother and baby "couples" the details of how babies learn the rules of relation- ships and interactions. "Babies exhibit all kinds of incredible behaviors in terms of attempting to control what mum is doing, even at four months of age," Prof. Pederson says. The psychologists believe that while some mothers have intuition or experience which tells them how to read their baby's signals, others may misread the signals. More than 100 mother- infant couples have already taken part in an observation process which attempts to illuminate, the complicated relationship. Four month old babies are given a problem to solve -I how to get mum's attention. At first mother and baby play together, then a researcher comes in and asks mum questions, taking the focus away from baby. "The baby goes through an amazing repertoire of ac- tivities, including eyebrow raising, reaching and coy behaviors in what locks like an effort to find out why mum Isn't paying attention," Prof. Pederson says. The sessions are videotaped and it can take as long as two hours to code what the oaby did in 50 seconds of interaction with his mother. Assisting them in their efforts is the new Facial Action Coding System, developed in the U.S. and employed, the researchers believe, for the first time In Canada in this study. Each of the 24 facial ac- tions possible to human facial musculature is given a number. A great big smile, complete with open mouth, crinkled eyes and raised cheeks, is a 6 plus 12 plus 25. A frown with the mouth only is a 15. Coding the expressions can be difficult, says Prof. Moran. "It's like trying to record the facial expressions of a nerf ball, there's so much fat and there are no eyebrows, wrinkles or hairline." There's nothing magical about the mother-infant relationship, he adds. "The same relationship could develop between a father and a baby, since relationships develop because of interaction. It so happens that in our society the mother is still spending a greater amount of time with the children." While the researchers expect their investigations will take years to complete, given the complexity of human relationships, they do have general ideas about the outcome. Prof. Moran says "if there's going to be anything we find that will be helpful it will probably be recom- mendations about what you :,houldn't do. Long separations, for instance, have important reper- cussions on the development of the child." "Our studies are at the stage of the alchemists before they discovered the periodic table. There's so much to be learned about the richness of human relationships and how they begin with a mother and baby," Prof. Moran, who has done much of his research with animals, says that non- human mamalian mother and baby couples demon- strate similar kinds of at - Hair Heights Upstairs at 249 Andrew St. Exeter Call Mari Hutchison at, 235-1104 Drop In and fill out a coupon for a draw on Free Hair Style for the height of quality Men's & Ladies hair fashions DOME Of TIE cL$MTRY GMF TSMNI t,2 Mile West of Russeldale on Hwy. 83 Patchwork and Quilting Workshops Sot Apr 3 9 30 o m. 12 00 Radiating or folded star 11000 mot incl Sot Apr 3 1 30 p m •100 Stained Gloss with fabric 2 sessions 120 00 Sat Apr 3 130 p.m .1 Potchwork d Quilted Vest 2 sessions 120 00 Sat Apr 17 9 30 o m -12 00 Seminole Patchwork S10.00 (mot mil Sot Apr 17 1 30 p m 4 00 Stained Glass (2nd session) Sot Apr. 17 • 130 p.m •100 Patchwork d quilted Vest .2nd session) Sot Apr 21 1 30 p m .1 CO counted Cross Stitch Pre -registration only CaII now 229-6429 Watch for film "Quilts in Women's \Lives" tachment behaviors - or at least they look like they do. "They show all the behaviors we label as loving behaviors." "Animals and humans come into the world prepared to form Important attachment relationships with a particular individual. It Makes sense from a biological point of view, since the young are defen- celess." Human babies come with uniquely human biological attention -getters that other mammalian babies don't have, Prof. Pederson adds. "They suck in a burst - pause pattern, so that when a baby stops sucking, he causes the mother to look. They can wave their hands, smile, vocalize -anything to get mum's attention." Prof. Pederson, a psychologist who has focused his research on child development, adds that human infants seem predisposed to form relationships. Not only that, even the most taciturn and ill-natured adult will succumb to a baby's smile. "I don't think it's any accident that we like everything they do." The intense nature of the mother-infant bond is very similar to that recaptured when a male and female first fall in love, the researchers observe. The smiling, touching and closeness first felt by lovers is, biologically - speaking, as important as the first relationship bet- ween mother and baby, since in both cases the ability to form a bond with one other significant human being is necessary to the survival of the individual and the species, the psychologist say. upperior SCRS NEMINIORHOOD SUPERMARKET FRESH VACUBM PACKED MAXWELL HOUSE 141. PIC. COFFEE 2.391 ME FROM CONCENTRATE FBI ORANGE JUICE 3241. TMC Times -Advocate, March 17, 1982 USBORNE VIAL OF LIFE - Phyllis Miller is presented with a vial of life by Muriel Parsons of the Elimville Women's Institute. 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