To determine whether physical contact immediately after birth affects maternal behavior, 28 first-time mothers were assigned to one of two conditions after giving birth to normal full-term infants. The youngest 14 mothers were placed in the control group and had usual physical contact with their infants. The oldest 14 mothers were placed in the extended contact group and had 16 hours of additional physical contact with their infants. It was predicted that greater physical contact would lead to more positive maternal behavior. Maternal behavior was measured 28 days later with a standardized interview, an examination of the baby, and a filmed bottle-feeding. Extended-contact mothers were more reluctant to leave their infants with someone else, usually stood and watched during the examination, showed greater soothing behavior, and engaged in significantly more eye-to-eye contact. These studies suggest that simple modification of physical contact shortly after delivery may alter subsequent maternal behavior. 1) Identify a flaw/limitation with this study and explain why it is a flaw/limitation. 2) Suggest an improvement to the research design and explain why it improves the study.
To determine whether physical contact immediately after birth affects maternal behavior, 28 first-time mothers were assigned to one of two conditions after giving birth to normal full-term infants. The youngest 14 mothers were placed in the control group and had usual physical contact with their infants. The oldest 14 mothers were placed in the extended contact group and had 16 hours of additional physical contact with their infants. It was predicted that greater physical contact would lead to more positive maternal behavior. Maternal behavior was measured 28 days later with a standardized interview, an examination of the baby, and a filmed bottle-feeding. Extended-contact mothers were more reluctant to leave their infants with someone else, usually stood and watched during the examination, showed greater soothing behavior, and engaged in significantly more eye-to-eye contact. These studies suggest that simple modification of physical contact shortly after delivery may alter subsequent maternal behavior.
1) Identify a flaw/limitation with this study and explain why it is a flaw/limitation.
2) Suggest an improvement to the research design and explain why it improves the study.
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