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)

The consistency of eight attachment behaviors across a four-month period was investigated in two samples of infants. Multiple correlations revealed significant amounts of consistency in attachment behavior for vocalizing, visual regard, proximity to the mother from 10 to 14 months, and for touching and proximity to her from 14 to 18 months. (SE)

The study examined inadequate behaviors of Japanese mothers with their stuttering children. Video tape recordings of playing situations of five stuttering children (ages 3-5) and their mothers and five non-stuttering children and their mothers were evaluated using two rating check lists. Results found differences in the behaviors of the two groups…

The study observed interactions of mothers and infants in the homes of 20 families with infants having cerebral palsy (CP) and developmental delay and 20 families of nonhandicapped infants. Among findings were that mothers of CP infants were more verbally and physically directive and engaged in fewer positive behaviors in their initiation and…

Acting on the premise that she was teaching her son a task, each of 30 mothers selected consequences for her child's errors. In actuality, feedback to the mother regarding her son's performance was experimentally manipulated. Results showed that differential conditioning of both high and low maternal punitiveness could be achieved by using the…

Sixty infants (ages 11 to 26 weeks) were divided into 3 groups (healthy, preterm healthy, and preterm sick). Ten minutes of infant-parent interaction were videotaped, and mothers viewed the tapes and identified infant behaviors they interpreted. Differences in behavioral interpretations among mothers are identified, as are correlations among…

Comparison of 18 mothers and their late-talking male toddlers with 18 mothers and their typically developing male toddlers found no significant differences in degree of synchrony between mothers and children, mothers' use of social cues, play synchrony, compliance, or overall communicativeness, although the late talkers made significantly fewer…

This paper presents arguments for greater use of sophisticated research strategies and statistical analyses of data in dealing with the real-life complexity of social interaction. Three possible procedures are proposed and illustrated in a study of interactions between mothers and their 8- to 18-month-old children. The first strategy is to…

An interaction analysis observation instrument, with categories found in the definition of "executive competence" by Wenar and related to R. White's effectance motivation, was used to observe 37 toddlers with their mothers. (SB)

Research on characteristics of Down Syndrome infants affecting the interaction between mother and child is reviewed. Differences in the development of the social communication behaviors of state control (sleep and awake); gaze patterns; coordination of gesture, gaze, and vocalization; and frequency of vocalization have implications for parental…

Results indicated that the children's behavior had an effect upon the parents, with mothers and fathers interacting more and being more controlling when the children were dependent. (Authors)

Parents' teaching behavior was observed in a structured interaction task designed both to explore a different method for observing parental behavior, and to investigate the relationship between parental behavior and personality. (Authors)

This study investigates the reactive effects of observers on interactions between teachers (undergraduates and mothers) and toddlers in a preventive educational program. Findings indicate that the presence of an observer differentially affects interactional patterns in the home. More specifically, undergraduates and toddlers are relatively…

A study was conducted on the interactional relationship between independent and dependent mildly retarded adolescents (N=24) and their mothers. Adolescent-mother pairs separately engaged in a videotaped problem solving task for 20 minutes. The 24 videotapes were then subjected to an interactional coding system comprised of five behavioral domains.…