Infants watched an experimenter retrieve a stuffed animal from an opaque box and then return it. This happened twice, consistent with either 1 animal appearing on 2 occasions or 2 identical-looking animals each appearing once. The experimenter labeled each object appearance with a different novel label. After infants retrieved 1 object from the…

Three experiments tested whether 12- to 24-month-old children showed systematic search, persistence, and/or end-screen search in the invisible-displacement task. A fourth study tested whether end-screen search resulted from seeing the experimenter move his hand through the series of screens. (RH)

Data provide strong evidence that studies of stress and cortisol release in infants must take into account basal level, circadian rhythm, and behavioral effects and employ appropriate statistical procedures. Participants were infants of two, four, and six months of age from whom salivary cortisol was obtained before and 15 minutes after an…

Mothers of firstborn infants were videotaped playing with a six-month-old infant with sex-appropriate or cross-sex clothes and names. Toy choice and interaction styles varied with the perceived sex of the child. (BD)

A sample of 40 babies was observed in a variety of mildly challenging situations throughout their second year and in a series of follow-up assessments at age 31/2. Findings revealed two types of avoidant mechanism--wariness of the unfamiliar and fearfulness after exposure to a mildly difficult situation. (JMB)

Results show that continuous stimulation reduced arousal level both behaviorally and physiologically, that this effect occurred quite rapidly, and that it endured relatively unchanged over time. (Author)

Quantifies behavioral periodicities or cycles during face-to-face interaction between three- and five-month-old term and preterm infants and their mothers. Compares the temporal organization of social interaction between term and preterm infants. Spectral and cross-spectral techniques showed the existence of periodicities. Differences were found…

Examined consistency in behavioral state organization for 30 fetuses and neonates. Assessed heart rate pattern and presence or absence of eye and gross body movements during sleep, finding quiet sleep (QS), active sleep (AS), and indeterminate states in nearly identical proportions. Duration of enclosed QS epochs provided only stable measure of…

This project hoped to specify the role of early, mother-infant separation in determining later maternal behavior. Clinically, the results suggest that such a separation should be avoided whenever possible and should be minimized when separation is unavoidable. (Authors)

The cry sounds of 12 well-nourished and 12 malnourished male infants were compared using behavioral and acoustic measures. (BRT)

Reports two experiments in which eight patients with organic memory disorders exhibited a pattern of search behavior that resembled mnemonmic precedence--the ability to retrieve an object at an initial location, but not at a new location. (HOD)

Twenty mothers and 20 fathers were brought into the laboratory with two of their children (one preschool-age, one toddler) and given a cognitive task that competed with child care for their attention. A phenomenological approach was used to predict changes in parental behavior under conditions of task competition. (Author/MP)

Evaluated the extent to which infants' expressive modalities of face, gaze, voice, gesture, and posture form coherent affective configurations and whether these modalities are related to specific interactive contexts. Found four distinct affective configurations: social engagement, object engagement, passive withdrawal, and active protest. (MDM)