Topic:
How contingent touch affects infants' learning and behavior.
Research tells us:
Touching infants in ways they find pleasurable in response to their specific
behaviors, parents and caregivers can help babies increase motor learning, promote
positive social-emotional behavior, and decrease negative social emotional behavior.
Acting on the evidence:
By paying attention to a baby's responses, you can discover what kinds of touch
he enjoys most. Some babies might love having their feet stroked, while others
might prefer gentle pats on the back or tummy. Use touch as a reward to encourage
an infant to repeat desirable, positive behaviors like smiling and cooing.
Research findings show that parents and caregivers have a
wonderful way to promote infant learning and development right at their fingertips.
In fact, fingertips and hands, used to provide gentle pats
and caresses in response to specific infant behaviors, serve as a form of reinforcement
that encourages babies to move, vocalize, and act in many beneficial ways.
Tracy L. Masiello, Ph.D., a research scientist at the Research
and Training Center on EarlyChildhood Development, analyzed seven studies that
looked at the way an infant's action is influenced by adult touch given in response
to that action. A total of 186 healthy, full term infants participated in the
studies Dr. Masiello reviewed. When taken together, the findings clearly indicate
that infants find various kinds of touch pleasurable and stimulating and tend
to repeat movements and other behaviors when they realize the connection between
their actions and repetition of the enjoyable touch.
Using touch in this way, that is letting it be a reward for
a specific infant behavior, is called "contingent touch." Dr. Masiello
recommends that contingent touch be used by parents and caregivers as one of
many social reinforcers to help infants to learn and grow. In natural adult-infant
interactions, touch is only one of many types of social contingencies. Smiling,
talking, singing, and playing with the infant, for example, are other behaviors
adults are likely pair with touch to reinforce their infant's responses and
learning in motor, social emotional, and other areas of development.
Parents can very naturally use touch and other responses as
ways to encourage infants to repeat and practice desirable behaviors. Let's
take a look:
Matt Davis is pleasantly surprised by how much he's enjoying
the early weeks of his first-born's life. Baby Jamie's facial expressions, vocalizations,
and behaviors are proving to be a constant source of amusement and fascination
for Matt and his wife, Joy.
One surprise for Matt has been how easily father and son
have developed little "games" that delight them both.
While spending time watching Jamie one evening, Matt notices
the baby stretching his hands toward his father's face. Matt is so delighted
by the gesture that he gives the baby a kiss on the back of his hand, then continues
holding it as he talks happily and strokes the baby's arm with his index finger.
In a moment he lets go. Just as he settles in to read the newspaper, he glances
at Jamie and sees that the baby is reaching toward him again.
Chuckling, Matt stops what he's doing and kisses and holds
Jamie's hand. "Hello, my funny little man," Matt says. "You like
this, don't you?" Sure enough, when he lets go of Jamie's hand, Jamie stretches
his arms toward his daddy again. Matt happily rewards him with another kiss.
"Hey, Joy!" he calls to his wife, "You have
to come see this! Jamie's invented a new game!"
Take another look:
Read or download the complete research synthesis in the
Bridges
section of www.researchtopractice.info: Masiello, T. L. (2006).
Influences of contingent touch on infant behavior. Bridges, 4 (4).
Exciting print, web-based and multimedia materials of interest
to parents and early childhood practitioners are available from the Center for
Evidence-Based Practices. To order by telephone, please call 800-824-1174.
Exciting print, web-based and multimedia materials of interest
to parents and early childhood practitioners are available from the Center for
Evidence-Based Practices. To order by telephone, please call 800-824-1174
