Still Face Experiment
Updated 2026-08-01
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Designed by Edward Tronick in the 1970s, the still face experiment places an infant and caregiver in normal interaction, then has the caregiver suddenly hold a blank, unresponsive face. Infants typically notice within seconds, work hard to re-engage the adult with smiles, gestures, and sounds, and then become distressed and withdraw. When the caregiver resumes normal responsiveness, most infants recover. The procedure demonstrated that mutual, contingent responsiveness, not feeding or physical care alone, is central to emotional regulation and attachment, and it became a standard tool in developmental research.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Feedback audit: check whether the people around you are getting any response at all from you. - Management warning: recognize that silence does more damage than open criticism does. - Repair check: confirm that connection can be restored after a rupture, and how quickly.
Anchor fast decisions
Infants regulate their emotional state through the caregiver's face, which confirms that their signals produced an effect. When the face goes blank, the feedback loop breaks and the infant loses the external regulator that was holding arousal in range. Attempts to restore contact fail, arousal rises unchecked, and the infant eventually withdraws to reduce it. Responsiveness, not warmth alone, is what regulates, which is why an absent response is more disruptive than a negative one.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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- baike.baidu.comhttps://baike.baidu.com/item/静止脸实验verified
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