The Still Face Experiment.

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Here is a dramatic video that shows how powerful the lack of mirroring is on an infant. It’s amazing how quickly the baby in this video notices the mother’s lack of affect and responds negatively to it. This is at the root of attachment disorders in children and most personality disorders, especially Cluster B. Without appropriate mirroring a child can’t develop empathy because it has never been modeled for them.

8 thoughts on “The Still Face Experiment.”

  3. Wow.

    Like Vic said, the second part was hard to watch.

    It made me remember how my mother’s moods were so changeable. And my dad, with his multiple personality disorder. His face would change dramatically with the different personalities.

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    • Mine too, especially my mother. She’d get this blank look, it looked like she had no soul. It used to terrify me. My father’s face changed when he was drunk but his never scared me as much even though itprobably should have!

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  4. I’m childfree and I found that hard to watch, I don’t think you need to have a child to recognise how very wrong that is and how much of an affect it could be having on any child who is treated that way.

    As well as mothers who have conditions like narcissism, what about moms with PND who might have a mask face through no fault of their own? What about parents who are tired and stressed out who might do that without even realising? What about parents like mine who just weren’t interested in having another child late in life but got drunk one Christmas? Or just people who have kids they resent once they have them (I swear if I hear another father describe his efforts at childcare as “babysitting” as if he’s not the parent I might end up on the news).

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