TransParent is a research project funded by the Research Council of Finland. Taking place at the Human Information Processing Laboratory in Tampere University, the project investigates changes in the behavioral, physiological, and hormonal responses to infant, child, and adult social signals during the transition to parenthood. Research suggests that particularly during pregnancy, major changes in hormonal processes as well as brain structure and function take place. Such changes may affect how we respond to emotions, interact with others, and they may be critical for successful adaptation to the challenges of parenthood. However, there has been surprisingly little research systematically investigating the potential changes in responses to social signals – particularly infant signals – across the transition to parenthood, which was the main motivation for the TransParent project.
The goals of the TransParent project have been addressed in multiple substudies, which are described below:
- In the first phase, we carried out a cross-sectional study involving women without children and mothers of young infants. The study consisted of a laboratory assessment during which the participants performed various tasks measuring their behavioral and physiological responses to infant, child, and adult faces, facial emotions, and emotional vocalizations. Saliva samples were collected for analyses of hormonal baseline levels as well as hormonal responses to an “infant simulator”, which is a doll programmed to produce various emotional vocalizations. A set of questionnaires were completed online. First results of this dataset have been reported here and here, with other publications following in 2024-2025.
- During COVID-19, we conducted a large online study with more than 1000 men, who were at different phases of fatherhood. With tasks measuring emotional and cognitive empathy, we investigated whether empathy to children’s emotions differs between childless men, first-time fathers, and more experienced fathers. The results of this study, pointing to increased empathic reactivity in first-time fathers of young infants, are currently in press at Developmental Psychology.
- During the pandemic, we also conducted a small-scale brain imaging study in first-time mothers. In collaboration with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research at the University of Jyväskylä, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure experience-dependent changes in mothers’ brain responses to infants’ facial and vocal information during the infant’s first year.
- Another online dataset was collected, in which we focused on ”baby fever”, the motivation to become a parent. To understand the factors potentially associated with such motivation, we collected data on personality traits, relationship functioning, and childhood experiences. The participants were childless men and women, who were either single or in a relationship, thus providing information about potential sex differences in motivation toward babies, and the impact of relationship status.
- After the pandemic, we completed two lab studies. In the first one, we studied expecting men, first-time fathers, and more experienced fathers. Using physiological, hormonal, observational, and questionnaire measures, we investigate the role of fatherhood experience on core aspects of paternal parenting, such as empathic responses to children’s emotions.
- In another lab study, we studied first-time mothers and more experienced mothers. With measures of brain activity (EEG) and physiological reactivity (heart rate), we investigate the impact of parity (i.e., experience of motherhood) on maternal processing of infant emotion signals.
We will inform about new results from these studies here as well on the main website of the Human Information Processing Laboratory, and on our social media channels (Twitter, Instagram), so stay tuned!
TransParent is directed by Mikko Peltola, PhD. Our team consists of two postdocs, two PhD students and research assistants. The study has been designed in collaboration with experts from the Netherlands (Marinus van IJzendoorn, Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg, Peter Bos), Scotland (Benedict Jones, Lisa DeBruine), and the USA (Amanda Hahn).
If you have any questions about the project, please contact Mikko Peltola.