Solutions for

Parent-child interaction

Interaction between children and their parents is a classical study object in developmental psychology, pediatrics, and child psychiatry. Surely, the quality of parent-child interaction is one of the major predictors of emotional and social development of children in the first years of life. Children thrive in a positive environment, so hearing compliments, stating clear expectations for positive behaviors, and positively engaging with the child should enhance self-confidence and the development of communication and healthy habits.

Observing parent-child interactions

Some observe and record behavior in a stationary observation lab, while others record behavior on-site with a portable lab. Multi room labs can be designed with Viso^®, the multi video recording suite. Other researchers use just a camera to make video recordings, and analyze their recordings afterwards with The Observer^® XT. They often combine behavioral parameters with other information like parental reports, rating scales and school results.

screenshot baby facereader action units valance

Facial expressions of infants

Baby FaceReader™ can help analyze expressive behavior occurring during parent-child interactions. The infant facial expressions can be measured unobtrusively and give insight into the positive and negative valence of the infant.

Baby FaceReader is the first and only software tool that offers these possibilities! Try it out for yourself.

Download our product overview

Superior behavior recording and analysis is possible in an AV lab. Facilitating parent-child interaction research, developmental psychology studies, or infant behavior studies. Read more about our powerful software tools, fully integrated labs, and expert consultancy in the product overview.

If you are looking for blog posts about parent-child interaction research, you can surely find it on our behavioral research blog! Don’t want to miss new blog posts? Stay up-to-date and subscribe now! You will receive updates of new blog posts every month.

Examples of parent-child interaction studies

As the best place to look at typical eating behavior is in the home, not in a lab setting, Edelson and her colleagues from the Nestlé Research Center in Sweden studied parent-child interactions during meal time using in-home studies.
The Centre for Infant Cognition (CIC), at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada, looked at minute eye gaze changes, hand gestures, and emotions of infants while they are observing a moral dilemma or social interaction, which is usually depicted in a puppet show.
The aim of the study of researcher Walton and her colleagues was to analyze parenting practices during mealtimes and explore their relation with nutrition and nutritional status.

centre for infant cognition puppet show kiley hamlin

(Courtesy: Kiley Hamlin)

Parent-child interaction therapy

A Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) program helps improve family dynamics by working to reduce negative behavior and interactions, and to practice new behaviors and ways of communicating that are more encouraging and reassuring. When practiced consistently, these new skills and techniques can instill more confidence, reduce anger and aggression, and encourage better individual and interactive behavior in both parent and child.

Interesting publications

A diverse collection of scientific articles citing Noldus products are published in renowned journals. The following list is only a small selection of scientific publications in different research fields: pediatric psychology, developmental psychology, and psychopathology.

Buil, A.; Carchon, I.; Apter, G.; Laborne, F.X.; Granier, M. & Devouche, E. (2016). Kangaroo supported diagonal flexion positioning: New insights into skin-to-skin contact for communication between mothers and very preterm infants. Archives de Pédiatrie, Volume 23 (9), 913-920.
Edelson, L.R.; Mokdad, C.; Martin, N. (2016). Prompts to eat novel and familiar fruits and vegetables in families with 1-3 year-old children: Relationships with food acceptance and intake. Appetite, 99, 138-148.
Lee, R.; Skinner, A.; Bornstein M.H.; Radford, A.N.; Campbell, A.; Graham, K.; Pearson, R.M. (2017). Through babies’ eyes: Practical and theoretical considerations of using wearable technology to measure parent-infant behaviour from the mothers’ and infants’ view points. Infant Behavior and Development, 47, 62-71.
Lunkenheimer, E.S.; Kemp, C.J.; Albrecht, C. (2013). Contingencies in mother-child teaching interactions and behavioral regulation and dysregulation in early childhood. Social Development, 22 (2), 319-339.