ORIGINAL ARTICLE Mother-Child and Father-Child Interactional Synchrony in Dyadic and Triadic Interactions Julia Scarano de Mendonça & Louise Cossette & Francis F. Strayer & France Gravel # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 Abstract Patterns of interactional synchrony were com- pared in mother-child and father-child dyads during dyadic and triadic interactions. Forty-two dual-earner families from the French province of Québec, Canada, participated in the study with their 32 months-old child. Parent–child inter- actions were coded using a taxonomy including the social partners’ physical proximity, visual and body orientation, and dyadic involvement. Analyses show similar patterns of interactional synchrony in mother-child and father-child dyads in the dyadic context while father-child dyads presented less interactional synchrony than mother-child dyads when interacting in triad. Discussion focuses on the impact of the context and on the factors that could explain the changes in father-child patterns of interaction from one context to another. Keywords Mother-child interaction . Father-child interaction . Interactional synchrony Introduction Numerous studies have emphasized the differences in the interactive styles of mothers and fathers with their child. Moreover, biological explanations of these parenting styles have generally been proposed without considering the influence of the social and cultural context in which families are immersed. With the majority of mothers now in the workforce in western countries, and the greater emphasis on fathers involvement with their child, significant changes may emerge in fathers’ and mothers’ patterns of interaction with their child. Based on a systemic perspective of parenting roles, the aim of the present study was to compare interactional synchrony in mother-child and father-child dyads in dual- earner families from the French province of Québec, Canada. Interactional Synchrony in Mother-Child Dyads Mother-child interaction has long been one of the major areas of research in developmental psychology. The first studies emphasized the highly synchronized interaction between the mother and her child (Bateson 1979; Beebe 1982; Beebe et al. 1988; Blicharski 1991; Bruner 1976, 1983; Feider et al. 1990; Kaye 1982; Kaye and Wells 1980; Schaffer 1977; Trevarthen 1977, 1979, 1998). Focusing on the sequential structure and temporal patterning of mother-child interaction, these studies have provided detailed analyses of vocal, facial, and gaze expressions and of pauses, silences, and turn taking duration. For instance, observing sequences of mother-infant interaction, Trevarthen (1977, 1979, 1998) described how the infant’ s mouth, hands, and eyes movements are produced in rhythmic patterns with those of the mother creating a kind of dialogue. Those studies and many others illustrate the synchroni- zation of mother-child early dialogue. The idea of synchro- J. S. de Mendonça (*) Universidade de Mogi das Cruzes, Rua Piauí 1237, Higienópolis, São Paulo, SP, Brazil e-mail: Julia.m@itelefonica.com.br L. Cossette Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada F. F. Strayer Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, France F. Gravel Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada Sex Roles DOI 10.1007/s11199-010-9875-2