Dyadic Interaction: Greater than the Sum of its Parts?

Abstract

The study of dyadic interaction plays a major role in infancy research. To advance conceptually-informed measurement of dyadic interaction and integration across studies, we examined factor structure of individual parents’ and infants’ measures and dyadic measures from face-to-face interactions in two samples of 6-mo-old infants and their parents: mothers from a demographically heterogeneous sample (N = 164) and mothers and fathers (N = 156) from a Caucasian middle-class sample. Results suggested: a) individual and dyadic measures, and parents’ and infants’ behaviors contribute independent information, b) measures of both valence and process are needed, c) there are context-general and context-specific qualities, and d) structure of dyadic interaction is more similar among mother-infant dyads from independent samples than between mother- and father-infant dyads within the same sample. Future research should use multiple measures incorporating valence, temporal processes, contextual influences, and behaviors of individual partners along with dyadic measures to adequately assess the quality of dyadic interaction.

Don’t worry, be (moderately) happy: Mothers’ anxiety and positivity during pregnancy independently predict lower mother–infant synchrony

“…However, growing evidence, including results of the current study, suggests that high levels of maternal positivity may characterize mother–infant exchanges that are lower in synchrony (Borelli et al, 2012; Feldman et al, 2005; Moore et al, 2013), a quality of dyadic coordination theorized to promote regulatory development by scaffolding infants’ ability to attain and maintain calm, attentive states (Feldman, 2007). …”

“…Guided by prior research (Borelli et al, 2012; Feldman, 2007; Feldman et al, 2005; Moore et al, 2013), we proposed the following aims and hypotheses:…”

“…Although past research has linked high levels of maternal positivity and high levels of synchrony, independently , to beneficial outcomes, the few studies that have examined relations between the two constructs have found that higher levels of maternal positive affect have been found to be associated with lower mother–infant synchrony (Feldman, Granat, & Gilboa-Schechtoman, 2005; Moore et al, 2013). Given the emphasis on shared positive affect as the goal of mother–infant interaction, an association between lower synchrony and greater maternal positive affect may initially seem counter-intuitive.…”

Dyadic Affective Flexibility and Emotional Inertia in Relation to Youth Psychopathology: An Integrated Model at Two Timescales

“…This uniqueness is also true at the microand meso-timescales because only the timescale differs, while the unit of analysis remains the same (i.e., individual, dyad). As described above, data from an exploratory factor analysis indicated that mother-child dyadic measures and individual measures generally loaded onto separate factors (Moore et al 2013). Certainly, the intuitive connection between the two constructs cannot be denied, and recent work has implied that inertia may be a proxy for flexibility (Hollenstein 2015); however, these constructs are independent, and it is possible for dyads to display any combination of high or low flexibility and inertia.…”

“…Importantly, dyadic affective flexibility appears to be unique from individual measures, as data from an exploratory factor analysis indicated that mother-child dyadic measures and individual measures generally loaded onto separate factors (Moore et al 2013). This suggests that dyadic affective flexibility is both theoretically and quantitatively different from the sum of its parts (Tronick 2005) and that there is particular value in examining emotional flexibility at the dyadic level, especially because it has been shown to predict different outcomes than individual-level flexibility or variability (Van der Giessen et al 2015b).…”