Fig. 1

The Calming Cycle theoretical construct. Panel A illustrates the four phases of calming cycle: 1) separate mother and child distress, 2) mutually shared distress, 3) mutual resolution of distress, and 4) mutual calm that include observable periods of eye contact and/or physiological calming. Note that over time repeated calming interactions between mother and child lower levels of stress in both the mother and the infant and with progressively less duration of interaction. Panel B plots the observed level of resistance effort over repeated calming sessions. Note the similarity in the shape of the two graphs, which supports the idea that the intervention lowers levels of stress and resistance to closeness