From feelings to words: Processes of symbolization in mother infant interaction and their implications for adult psychotherapy.
Item
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Title
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From feelings to words: Processes of symbolization in mother infant interaction and their implications for adult psychotherapy.
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Identifier
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AAI3083712
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identifier
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3083712
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Creator
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Tingley, Elizabeth Catherine.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Arietta Slade
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Date
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2003
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical | Psychology, Developmental
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Abstract
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This research examined mother-infant interaction, focusing on what mothers do that might support their infants' growing capacities to put words to feelings. Sixty-eight mother-infant dyads were videotaped in the laboratory. Infants were aged either 6, 12 or 18 months. Episodes of infant affect were identified from 18 minutes of videotaped mother-infant interaction and were classed by valence (positive or negative). Type of maternal responses (action, speech and affect) to infant affect and functions of maternal speech in response to infant affect were coded. The ten function categories were elicit, acknowledge, clarify, guide, facilitate, label, evaluate, alleviate, re-orient and other. These data were analyzed using infant age and gender as the between subjects variables and infant affect valence (positive and negative) as the within subjects or repeated factor. Results showed that mothers' own affective responses varied by infant age and infant affect valence (positive versus negative). Mothers also varied their functions of their speech by infant age (clarify and label more frequently at 6 than at 12 or 18 months; guide and other more frequently with older than younger infants), infant affect valence (clarify, evaluate and alleviate and evaluate more frequently with negative than with positive affect). There were two interaction effects for infant age and infant affect valence. Mothers used words to elicit positive affect only less frequently with 18 months olds than with other ages while mothers decreased their use of words to re-orient infants away from negative affect at 18 months. No gender differences were found. These findings were discussed in relation to Vygotsky's concepts of internalization and scaffolding, infant development and developmentally appropriate mother-infant interaction. Specifically, it was suggested that mothers' use of language to respond to infant affect, mothers use of redundant information across modalities and developmental changes in these maternal behaviors are potential scaffolds for the symbolization of affect. In addition, maternal behaviors were evident which could support the infant's move from a passive to an active stance in symbolizing affect. These results were also applied to processes in adult psychotherapy, including transference, interpretation, structure, reflective functioning and empathy.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
