How a mother processes her infant's distress: Cognitive pathways to maternal insensitivity

Maternal sensitivity is one of the most frequently considered influences on early infant development. Nevertheless, the cognitive foundations of maternal sensitivity have received little attention. Here, we present a social information-processing model of maternal insensitivity. The model posits that maternal processing of infant distress is determined by two components: Firstly, it is determined by stable implicit cognitive structures and secondly, by more transient event-dependent cognitive processes. The model integrates different cognitive pathways in response to infant distress. We critically evaluate evidence for our model and outline a research agenda to gain a refined understanding of the cognitive mechanisms behind maternal insensitivity.