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Wow, it doesn't take long at all for these babies to realise that something has changes, even though the parent is still sitting right in front of them.

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These videos conjured so many emotions for me. It drew me back to my time as a mum to babies and how milliseconds of unsettledness could send me racing across the house to soothe/interact.
I cannot imagine what an eternity 3 mins would feel like.

I had an interesting experience this past summer while on holiday where we got to know another family at the caravan park. It became clear quite quickly that the single father of 4 was running on empty, and seeking any respite he could.  Whilst the kids were playing and the dads were talking I cooked dinner for our 2 kids and his 4. We felt a need to keep our eye on his kids as he was in his cabin often letting the kids roam around on their own... not uncommon in caravan parks but certainly unsafe for the 3 year old son.
This little boy (non verbal) really took to me and I made it my business to keep safe watch of him. His mother was mentally unwell and estranged, and dad was in survival mode.
Over only a couple of days, every time I sat down on the lawn to watch the kids on the jumping pillow, this little boy would come and put himself on my lap. It was evident that he need affection (attachment ?) like oxygen. He went to sleep in my arms, after only knowing me for such a short time, and didn't seem to want to part from me. Whilst it was of great concern and upset to me that this little boy was potentially experiencing a level of neglect, it was profound to witness him envelope another mother's embrace and soak it in to the fibres of his being - or so it felt.

Kate - I'd be really interested in your perspective on this as it is something that has stuck with me and seems to go against a lot of the literature.

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Each time I see these videos I am drawn into how quickly the baby cycles through emotions and how deeply it impacts their bodies. I also noticed how in both clips I found myself wanting to respond and even going to make the noises that the babies were making as they tried desperately to get their parents back to the interaction and emotional proximity they needed. It is such a natural urge to respond and to not be met with a response feels quite unsettling. As an adult I feel that when people are unresponsive for me, one of the emotions that comes up is shame which I is a feeling that can be quite powerful, overwhelming and limiting within relationships. A lot of the children that I have worked with have struggled to trust adults and feel safe making new attachment bonds (Bowlby's IWM comes to mind here) and it's interesting but saddening to see how much longer it can take to create a secure base for a child who had an unresponsive carer.

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Watching these two clips highlighted just how capable babies are at understanding social interaction, and it got me thinking about my own interactions with my children when they were this age. As the clips progress and the Still Face is activated, it was a little distressing to watch the babies try to get the parent back to the previous play scenarios. I was glad there was a reunion, to therefore strengthen their relationship.

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Wow, I have never heard of this before, it was so sad watching this baby change from a happy baby to an infant that had no idea what had happened.

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Watching the experiments highlights how babies are both capable and vulnerable.  They are so dependent on their caregivers and being provided with a safe environment in which to emotionally connect and develop skills through caring, loving and  interactive connections.

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I find all this material on attachment so interesting to read. I did find the part of the video where the infant becomes distressed difficult to watch but I enjoyed seeing things come back to normal when the mother and father re-engaged with the baby. I never realised that there is a such a reciprocal relationship between the mother and father and the baby and it is so interesting to see how important the engagement is from the parent so that the baby can feel secure. I also enjoyed watching the baby work hard to try and get the parent back involved with them, although i didnt enjoy the effect on the baby when the parent had an expressionless face and wouldnt interact. This reminds me how important it is for a baby to have that constant interaction with the parent as part of their emotional and social development.

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I had a strong emotional response during the repair phase of the experiment. It warmed me how quickly the infants were able to reconnect with their parents.
It makes me wonder if infants in today's world are receiving the amount of quality interaction they need for their health, development and wellbeing. I say this because I have noticed a gradual increase each year, that children present at preschool with additional learning needs and delays in most developmental domains.
Speaking of which...
This also reminded me of a student in my care last year who was in foster care and had suffered neglect and trauma in his earliest years. I went out of my way to build a strong attachment with him, however he moved schools at the end of term 3 and I didn't get to say goodbye due to Covid. I wonder whether he will ever catch up to his peers.

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Attachment Therapy is totally new to me so all this material is fascinating to watch and learn about.

Watching the two still face experiments, what amazed me the most was just how quickly the child reacted. And all the different actions the child undertook to try and get the parent to come back to them.

Interestingly the facial expressions of our parents or lack of, can convey such meaning to us as a child. We all know the "look" that we got as kids, I was a 70's baby and knew that this look meant I was in trouble!

These videos raised lots of interesting questions for me. Would the reactions from the baby be exaggerated if they were tired and hungry when the parents faces became still?

I know there is a reaction from kids when you are on the phone!

Some mothers have mentioned sleep schools and I too attended one. It was physically so hard and emotionally distressing to leave my baby while it was crying.

So face to face it must have been hard to do this experiment when you are so attuned to your baby and their needs and communication.

How do babies in child care process mum leaving them and then coming back hours later especially when they are very young?

I am enjoying reading and watching all the information- so much to take in but so interesting!

I have started with the historical overview first to gain some insight and now look forward to diving into the infant observations readings and practice.

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How truely amazing is the human race. To see that so early infants learn social cues and develop strategies for engagement and survival is remarkable.
I felt uncomfortable but fascinated whilst watching as the infants in the experiment mimicked behaviours previously employed in play with their caregiver to elicit their return to interaction. The quick and distressed responses provided and experienced by each infant effectively demonstrated caregiver attachment with the infant.
I enjoyed listening and learning about the importance of providing a space for infants to create and stay within an emotional equilibrium.

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I have to admit that I didn't have a strong emotional reaction to the Still Face Experiment videos probably because I knew it was in the context of attachment and like Ed Tronick stated there was reparation; "a chance to get back to good". After reading about the work Bowlby and Ainsworth did, I felt the outcome was going to be pretty obvious and reinforces the previous findings about attachment with adults in infancy and the importance of a secure attachment.

As a mum what has emotionally gotten to me was when I read the reflection related to sleep school. I also attended sleep school with my twins. Unlike the other person (sorry your name isn't on your post), I was allowed to comfort my children but not pick them up which I found very difficult. This lead me to think about the popularity Cry It Out method of sleep training and the notion of babies manipulating parents. To me, those go against your maternal instincts and I think of infants being left to cry for upwards of 15 or more minutes in hopes they 'self soothe'. I can only imagine what kind of impact that has on their development.

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I find this fascinating. I love that the babies have already learned all those behaviours to try and re-engage their mum or dad in social interaction! So clever.. and they are probably usually successful in doing so judging by their quick confusion as to why it wasn't working this time.
Not sure how I'd go being the mum or dad in the experiment, but I actually wasn't upset watching - I think I felt trust in this case that the repair was coming and that they were in a safe space.
I was thinking about phones and masks and wondering what role they play here. I do know I've tried to be very animated in eyes and voice, but it could be a version of still face to infants. And phones must have an impact, do babies just give up trying to engage? How scary.

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When I first look to the face of the mother, she look likes sad and can’t be reached,if i were the baby , this would make me scared.

It helps understanding the relationship between the people and the infant interactions, and this is an interesting finding for the adult to know more the influences we would make on an infant.

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I have seen the still face experiment with the mum thousands of times throughout my years in the early childhood education field. It breaks my heart every time I see it, and it gets me to thinking about children who don’t get that rupture/repair cycle and live permanently in insecure or avoidant attachment.

This is the first time seeing the experiment conducted with dads. I found it very interesting, though not surprised, that the children exhibited the same reactions.
I think it really highlights the (much more modern) point made in the ‘Understanding Attachment and the Influence of Parental Care’ reading that children can form multiple attachments with multiples figures and is not solely dependent on the mother-child bond.

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Although I have seen these videos many times, the feeling of uneasiness never really goes away for me. How quickly the infant shows levels of distress. What it raises for me is the question around parental use, often overuse, of technology. It scares me to think about about how many infants today are exposed daily to the still face of a parent who is totally consumed with their mobile phone. Educating expectant parents with the still face video e.g. during antenatal classes might be a good initial forum for this type of parent education.

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I had not seen the still face experiments before and I need to say that these videos were hard to watch. The moment when the parent/caregiver turned away and then turned back and gave the child no reaction it was heartbreaking. The immediate distress on the child's face and the reactions that resulted were so upsetting. I was at ease when the parent/caregiver turned back and starting interacting with their child and you could see the child settle and feel safe in the presence of their parent. These videos are a wonderful example on how important loving, meaningful, engaging and interactive connections are for children.

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I felt joy and happiness with the infants engaging with their fathers. Enjoying eye-to-eye gaze, engaging in vocalisations, laughing when engaging in kinesthetic play and a general enjoyment of the interaction. It was interesting to see just how fast a child’s affect changes when the father becomes still faced. It is almost immediately. The infant’s reaching out, pointing at other things to get their attention, crying, looking away, frustration, seeking physical contact and the child’s affect of hopelessness and giving up. It was wonderful to see how these seemingly securely attached infants bounced back to baseline as soon as their fathers started interacting with them again.  What is worrying is that some infants experience insecure relationships consistently and are subject to neglect and abuse. It makes me wonder about people in society such as criminals. I wonder if their behaviors stemmed from insecure attachments in childhood. Could it be a contributing factor? Or is it the determining factor? Bowlby completed a study that found this idea was true. That most inmates reported that they experienced insecure relationships in childhood. This makes me think of Bowlby’s idea that we need to educate and support parents to be, in Winnicott’s terms, a ‘good enough’ parent so that infants are given the best opportunities for success in life and therefore can contribute positively to society.
Carlie A

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Watching the experiments highlights for me how dependent infants are on their parents/significant caregivers and their need for responsiveness and emotional connection. What really hit home for me was thinking about how much it effected the baby after three minutes and then thinking about the potential long term effects that would have as a child. No wonder we have the problems we do in society! With the fast pace of society, there are a lot of pressures on parents and it’s easy for people to get caught up with being goal orientated that they can miss what is important. I think there needs to be greater training and support for parents to build their knowledge and skillset, in particular raising awareness for the need for secure attachment. Many parents may not have had a secure attachment as a child with their own parents and this training would break the cycle.

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I have seen this video many times now and it is interesting to see the powerful emotional response triggers in me! It is so hard to watch when you feel the baby's stress and discomfort... but cannot do anything to help! It really is an excellent and powerful example of how important love, social interactions, attachment and connection is for infants!

-Hayley C

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It was quite overwhelming seeing the distressed infants trying to get the parents' attention through the ways in which they were previously interacting. I noticed it extremely difficult for the infant to process the fact that there was a change in communication and interaction with the parent and view how they dealt with the change and how it affected their comfortability, posture and vocal sounds. It was interesting to note how quickly the infant was also able to go back to being happy when the parent came back to being engaged and it makes me wonder how that time would take longer and longer the more a parent would neglect and not being engaged with a child over time.
- Tara

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I found it overwhelming watching the videos. I was willing the caregivers to give the the children something, just something. I found it very hard to watch the dad videos, even more than the mother clip. It was triggering as my husband grew up in a home of compliance and only knew this when our son was born. He has grown so much as a father, but the video did remind me of my husband when he would be overwhelmed with our children and shut down. It it amazing to watch their relationship now a few short years later. This really is proof that children thrive when the connection to their parents is positive.

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Watching these videos was a challenge for me, as I reflected on my own upbringing and the emotional disconnect of my own parents. I realise they tried their best, but as research shows, emotional disconnectedness really does have life-long impacts.
It is really challenging to see the children become so upset, especially given they know what their relationship is usually like. However, it really made me think more about the children who experience this sort of absent-parenting day in and day out, and rarely, if ever, receive the responsive parenting they need.

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What really struck a cord with me was when Ed Tronick said "We can only begin to imagine what life is like for a baby if those 3 minutes are like this all of the time". It makes me emotional thinking about the many children that are in this position and don't get the responsiveness they crave and deserve.
I have witnessed & worked with children in my role as a teacher. I just want to take them all home and love them. We definitely don't give them enough credit for their capabilities, strengths and understanding about emotional attachment.

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I had seen this or a version of it years ago, in my first years of Uni. I found it then and now uncomfortable to watch. However watching now, while working with a caseload that includes many children who have experienced abuse and neglect its different, and reflecting on what the presenter said imagine that for some children those 2 minutes make up most of their experience, this leaves me with a really sad and anxious feeling. Watching the video also made me reflect on a particular child that i have had ongoing concerns for around possible neglect and the parents capacity to engage and respond appropriately to due to many factors, including mental health. The description of the stages the babies go through are similar to some of the behaviours that the child (toddler) presents with in our sessions. I feel that this was very valuable to watch.
With reference to the child mentioned above, appropriate work place policy and mandatory reporting have been followed and I have an excellent team leader that has supported me with this case and the necessary procedures.

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As a mother, I found the first video really hard to watch. At one point the mother's eyes flinched slightly in reaction to her baby's cries, and I really felt for her and how hard it must have been to not console the child.
It reminded me of the trauma of when I took my 2nd child to sleep school and not being allowed to comfort him when he cried.

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My thoughts on : "Still Face Experiment'

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My thoughts on : "Still Face Experiment'

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I have viewed the first video quit a few years ago , however it still gave me a feeling like it was the first time I had viewed this. It clearly demonstrates how in tune and responsive infants are.
I feel resources like this should be much more available to all parents , as I still get the sense  that there is a perception of ' they will be ok , they are just babies. They don't understand .' language that you still hear from time to time. I feel this experiment really articulates just how vulnerable infants are and that when infants feel safe and grounded they can explore.
It was great to see the 2nd video demonstrating the experiment with a father.
Love sure is a gateway to survival/sanity .

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I have seen the still face experiment before but it has been a while since I watched the video. I don't recall feeling as uneasy as I did watching it this time round. It was very hard to sit through. The comment that resonated with me was when the first video highlighted that the experiment was hard for a child to sit through for a few minutes, it's horrible to imagine that some children are living with a 'still-faced parent' their whole life.

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I had previously seen the still face experiment, as well as the strange experiment, in my teaching degree. It still gives me a sense of amazement at the intuition children have. They're built for self-preservation and the way humankind ignored that for so long is devastating. The current practice for newborns is feed when they're hungry, cuddle them as much as you want and controlled crying isn't the preferred method for teaching a child to sleep by themselves (in fact, co-sleeping isn't as discouraged anymore, as long as it is done safely).
I'm not sure if we will come across it in this unit, I haven't read and watched everything yet, but another experiment that I remember from my first teaching course also centred around trust, and a baby's ability to read their mother's face.
It involved a table with a flat, transparent top, but through the top you could see a drop, that without the top the baby would fall. Mum stood at one end and coaxed the baby to crawl over to her, using just facial expressions I think. The babies would pause at the edge, looking to their mother, and would crawl across if their mother smiled and looked happy and calm. If the mother looked afraid, the baby wouldn't move.
Watching these again, and reading through the types of attachments again has given me some insight into some of the children I work with. I also think the experiments fit with what Bowlby says, about cherishing the parents as well as the child. It has made me think about the way we judge parenting, blaming bad parenting for a child's behaviour. It isn't necessarily bad parenting, but could be learned parenting, without them even realising it.

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I found this quite interesting that it is an experiment, as I remember doing this with my niece, but because she expected me to change my face to joy again, when she got upset, she got used to the experiment (I guess you could say) and would laugh as soon as I was 'still face'. So I find it interesting that this is an experiment, having had real-life experience, unaware of what this was called. This is similar to eye-contact with teachers, when the child is emotionally aware enough to not push a boundary, in the classroom setting, once I give certain eye-contact, they stop what they're doing.

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I was amazed regarding the second experiment. I must confess I use the first still face experiment  in a course we conduct regarding a therapeutic model of care. I was not aware of the second, regarding dads. Maybe my gender i.e. relating more to the participants, or some what desensitizing due to exposure to the first experiment with the mother, (that or when I play the video I no longer watch it) but when watching the dads one I felt the old heart strings been pulled and feeling terrible to do that to the child!
Just a reflection
Kind regards
Tony

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I hadn't come across these still face experiments before, so found it very interesting. For me these experiments (and the other videos in this sections) highlight the effects that moods, expressions, interactions etc have on babies and then extending into childhood and adulthood. It makes me wonder why there aren't more parenting courses/ education available across at least the first several years of a childs life that parents are encouraged to attend - like a child health check at certain ages, but a course for parents. Maybe these are available and I just do know, but that is just my thoughts after watching these experiments.

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I think the key words here are vulnerability and trust! Children are very capable learners and absorb what is going on in their environment. An infant relies on the adult to care and nourish (physically/mentally/emotionally) them so if they do not receive this they can feel abandoned. The infant puts their trust in the adult so if the adult is still face the child becomes distressed.