La imitación y el entonamiento afectivo en el juego social temprano / Imitation and affect attunement in early social play

Con el objetivo de estudiar las pautas adultas de imitación y entonamiento afectivo que ocurren en las situaciones de juego social temprano entre adulto y bebé, se realizó un estudio longitudinal de caso único, con una díada adulto-bebé. La edad del bebé en la primera sesión, según la convención piagetiana [año; mes (día)], fue: 00; 3 (05) y en la última sesión: 00; 6 (28). Se filmaron 8 sesiones de interacción espontánea de la díada, en su hogar, cada 15 días. De cada sesión se seleccionaron los primeros 10 minutos de juego social temprano. Con este material se generó una video-secuencia de juego social temprano a la que se le aplicó un código observacional con categorías para las pautas de actividades de coincidencia maternas (imitación y entonamiento afectivo). Los datos obtenidos en este estudio indican que las actividades de coincidencia maternas de imitación y entonamiento afectivo aparecen en todo el período estudiado, con una frecuencia de dos eventos de coincidencia por minuto de juego social temprano. Se observó que las pautas de entonamiento afectivo materno casi duplican a las de imitación entre los 3 y 6 meses de vida del bebé. Asimismo, se registró que la mayoría de los entonamientos afectivos fueron transmodales y que la madre utilizó su voz como modalidad conductual privilegiada para establecer coincidencias comportamentales con su bebé, ya sea a través de la imitación o del entonamiento. Las imitaciones maternas más frecuentes ocurrieron como respuesta a las vocalizaciones del bebé y los entonamientos afectivos fueron provocados principalmente por los movimientos del bebé.

This paper focuses on two specific matching activities of maternal behavior in early social play: imitation and affect attunement. Imitationis a pattern of frequent interaction between adult and baby, providing a pleasant experience to both participants. In that context, imitation is not only bi-directional, but it is the adult who imitates more frequently. Affect attunement is an intuitive and fleeting interaction pattern, through which the adult attunes to the baby's affective state. It is a matching activity, where the amodal features of the infant's behavior (intensity, temporal organization, spatial pattern and / or quantity) are reflected through a different conduct. Previous research indicates that during the first 6 months of the baby's life, the adult very often uses imitation as well as affect attunement for interacting (which involves performing a different behavior than the baby's in which the adult matches the intensity, temporal pattern, spatial pattern, and / or the amount of the child's original behavior). Maternal affect attunement events have been observed from 2 months of age, and the frequency ratio between affect attunement and maternal imitation has been observed to change in ontogenetic development: between the baby's 2nd and 6th months the adult's imitative activity occurs at higher rates; while in the second half of the first year of life, the relationship is reversed. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal case study on a mother-infant dyad, about maternal imitation and affect attunement behaviors in early social play situations between the 3rd and 6th months of the baby's life. According to Piaget's convention [year; month (day)], the baby's age was 00; 3(05) in the first session, and 00; 6 (28) in the last session. Every 15 days, a total of 8 sessions of the dyad's spontaneous interaction, were filmed in their home. From each session, the first 10 minutes of early social play were selected. With this material a video-sequence of early social play was generated to which an observational code with categories for maternal matching activity patterns (imitation and affect attunement) was applied. The percentage of each category's occurrence in each evolutionary period was calculated. The data obtained in this study indicate that maternal matching activities of imitation and affect attunement appear from the beginning of the studied period. These results confirm those previously obtained in other studies that show the early emergence of adult imitation and affect attunement behavioral patterns. The data also indicate that matching activities of imitation and affect attunement appear throughout the studied period with a frequency of two events perminute of early social play. These results partially confirm those previously obtained in other studies. The new information obtained in our study concerns the frequency of both reciprocity patterns, and the type of behavior of the mother and baby involved in these matching activities. Patterns of maternal affect attunement almost double those of imitation between the baby's 3rd and 6th months. It was also reported that most affect attunements were transmodal and that the mother used her voice as a privileged way to establish a behavioral match with her baby, either through imitation or affect attunement. The most frequent maternal imitations occurred in response to the baby's vocalizations, and affect attunements were caused mainly by the baby's movements. Without detracting from the dyad's intense vocal activity already registered in the field's literature, the high frequency of affect attunements in response to infant movement highlights a trait less noticed in previous research: the adult's mastery in reading the baby's body and movement.

Multimodal study of adult-infant interaction: a review of its origins and its current status / Estudo multimodal da interação adulto-criança: uma revisão de suas origens e seu status atual / Estudio multimodal de las interacciones adulto-bebé: una revisión sobre sus orígenes y su estado actual

An interpretative review of research on adult-infant interactions involving the analysis of movement behaviors is presented, systematically linking previous studies to current research on the subject. Forty-two articles analyzing the dyad's interactive movement in the period 1970-2015 were found. Twelve papers were excluded, including only those that studied the phenomenon in the baby's first year of life. The results revealed that movement was a central topic in early interaction studies in the 70s. In the 1980's and 1990's, its study was marginal and it is currently resurging under the embodiment perspective. The conceptual framework and research methods used in the pioneering work are presented, and the thematic foci shared with current research are highlighted. Thus, essential keys are provided for the updated study of early interactions from a multimodal perspective.

O objetivo desta revisão é apresentar os antecedentes da investigação do movimento em interações adultos-bebês durante o primeiro ano de vida e relacioná-los sistematicamente com os trabalhos atuais na área. Foram encontrados 42 artigos que analisam o movimento interativo da díade no período de 1970-2015. Foram excluídos 12 estudos, incluindo apenas aqueles que estudaram o fenômeno no primeiro ano de vida do bebê. Os resultados revelaram que o movimento foi um tema central em estudos de interações iniciais mãe-bebê na década de 1970. Nas décadas de 1980 e 1990, seu estudo foi marginal e atualmente está ressurgindo na perspectiva do embodiment. Assim, são apresentados o quadro conceitual e os métodos de pesquisa utilizados no trabalho pioneiro, destacando-se os focos temáticos partilhados entre eles e a pesquisa atual. Deste modo, proporcionam-se chaves essenciais para o estudo atualizado de interações iniciais a partir de uma perspectiva multimodal.

El objetivo de esta revisión es exponer los antecedentes de investigación del movimiento en interacciones adulto-bebé durante el primer año de vida y vincularlos sistemáticamente con los actuales trabajos sobre este tópico. Se encontraron 42 artículos de análisis del movimiento interactivo de la díada en el periodo 1970-2015. Se excluyeron 12 trabajos, incluyendo sólo los que estudiaron el fenómeno en el primer año de vida del bebé. Los resultados revelaron que el movimiento fue un tópico central en estudios sobre interacciones tempranas en los años 1970, en las décadas del 1980 y 1990 su estudio fue marginal y actualmente está resurgiendo en el marco del embodiment. Se presenta el marco conceptual y los métodos de investigación utilizados en los trabajos pioneros y se destacan los focos temáticos compartidos entre éstos y las actuales investigaciones. De este modo, se brindan claves esenciales para el estudio actualizado de las interacciones tempranas desde una perspectiva multimodal.

Spontaneous approach and apparent play solicitation by a young free-living tayra eira barbara (carnivora: mustelidae) in responseto the observer's presence

In a fragment of Atlantic Forest in Eldorado, Mato Grosso do Sul, Central-West Region of Brazil, a juvenile tayra (Eira barbara) spontaneously approached the observer while he was coursing a trail alone. The animal walked in a normal pace and, upon reaching his boots, alternatingly sniffed them and receded afterwards, assuming a posture that much resembles the play bow, a play signal displayed almost exclusively by canids. This is a rare report of a free-living animal that sought interaction with a human in a non-agonistic manner, instead of avoiding it as expected. It may also be one of the few examples of interspecific play in the wild, in case the observed posture was indeed a play bow. Interactions between humans and other animals are usually observed in situations in which the animal is used to the presence of people and often obtains food from these interactions, or when humans are not recognized as threatening by the animal. None of these scenarios seem to explain the observed behavior; individual traits such as boldness or, most likely, exploratoriness, on the other hand, may do so.

Em um fragmento de Mata Atlântica em Eldorado, Mato Grosso do Sul, Centro-Oeste do Brasil, testemunhou-se a aproximação espontânea de uma irara (Eira barbara) jovem ao observador. Ao alcançar suas botas, alternadamente as cheirava e depois recuava, assumindo uma postura muito semelhante ao play bow, utilizado quase exclusivamente por canídeos como sinal de brincadeira. Trata-se de um raro relato em que o animal procurou a interação com o humano de maneira não agonística, ao invés de evitá-la como seria esperado. Pode ser também um dos poucos exemplos de brincadeira interespecífica na natureza, caso a postura observada seja de fato um play bow. Interações entre humanos e outros animais são comumente observadas quando o animal está acostumado com a presença de pessoas e frequentemente obtém recompensas dessas interações, ou quando humanos não são reconhecidos como ameaça pelo animal. Nenhuma dessas situações parece explicar o comportamento observado, enquanto traços individuais, como coragem e, principalmente, tendência a explorar, podem.

Playful birds: cormorants and herons play with objects and practice their skills / Aves brincalhonas: biguás e garças brincam com objetos e treinam suas habilidades

Play is a behaviour known mostly for mammals, although birds are recorded to play as well. Here I describe the play behaviour for two bird species, the Neotropic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) and the Green Heron (Butorides striata) in southeastern Brazil. Juvenile and adult cormorants were recorded to manipulate sticks, leaves, rootlets, and plant debris while on the ground. They also played with sticks, leaves, pods, and plant debris, as well as live or dead fish while in the water, repeatedly grabbing the object and submerging it. When the object was a fish, they tossed it in the air as well. Juvenile herons played with small pieces of wood, fruits, and other floating objects, which they picked up and tossed repeatedly in the water. The behaviours recorded for the cormorants and herons qualify as object play, i.e., frolicsome interactions with an inanimate object including exploratory manipulation. This behaviour is regarded as having an important role in general motor development and for practice of particular skills, mostly foraging and breeding.

Brincadeira é um comportamento conhecido principalmente em mamíferos, embora aves também brinquem. Registro aqui atividade lúdica em duas espécies de aves, o biguá (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) e o socozinho (Butorides striata), no sudeste do Brasil. Biguás jovens e adultos foram registrados manipulando gravetos, raízes, folhas e fragmentos vegetais quando em terra. Também brincavam com gravetos, folhas e fragmentos vegetais, além de peixes, quando na água. Durante o nado, as aves apanhavam e afundavam o objeto repetidamente. Quando o objeto era um peixe, também o jogavam para cima. Socozinhos jovens brincavam com pequenos pedaços de madeira, frutos e objetos flutuantes, que apanhavam e largavam na água repetidamente. Os comportamentos registrados para os biguás e os socozinhos são classificados como brincadeira com objetos, i.é., entretenimento com um objeto inanimado, incluindo manipulação exploratória. Este comportamento é considerado como tendo função importante no desenvolvimento motor e prática de habilidades específicas, principalmente alimentação e reprodução.