Two experiments explored the existence and the development of relations between action representations and object representations. A priming paradigm was used in which participants viewed an action pantomime followed by the picture of a tool, the tool being either associated or unassociated with the preceding action. Overall, we observed that the…

This book consists of 31 papers focusing on aspects of child development. Mainly reports of research, papers are grouped topically into four sections dealing respectively with perceptual, language/communication, cognitive, and social development. Most of the nine papers in section 1 focus on the perceptual development of infants. Topics include…

This intensive longitudinal study of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life focuses on the development of attachment. Data on 26 middle-class families were collected by five methods: (1) naturalistic observation of each mother-infant pair during 4-hour home visits, which occurred at 3-week intervals from the infants' 3rd to 54th…

Activities of the Institute for Development of Human Resources provide the information contained in this document. This first large-scale project of the institute was in parent education of disadvantaged mothers in the north central Florida area. The purpose of the project was to investigate a way in which early intervention into the lives of…

Recent developments in infant mental health are outlined, with implications for work with at-risk populations. Discussed are: the biobehavioral-developmental perspective, the infant as a social being, the infant-caregiver relationship, the transactional model of the infant-parent relationship, assessing developmental disabilities, conceptualizing…

This guide for teenage mothers discusses the needs of the mother and her child during the first year of the child's life. Information on the child's and the mother's behavior and emotions just after the child's birth is presented. Also presented is information on the following: procuring items needed for tending the baby; playing; crying; breast…

The report examines, from a cognitive developmental view, research on the teachable moment or critical learning period in handicapped infants. The author explains that developmental gaps are produced by a mismatch between the infant's readiness and opportunity to learn. Characteristics and educational implications of specific handicapping…

This report describes a pilot project which involved the development and evaluation of an experimental treatment (training program) suitable for a longitudinal study in which the effects of child rearing practices on general competence in young children are being studied. Eleven families participated in the pilot training program which…

This paper describes the purposes and procedures of a longitudinal study designed to: (1) relate mother-infant interaction patterns to infant age, sex, and social class; (2) relate mother-infant interaction patterns to infant sensory-motor development; and (3) to examine the relationship between infant sensory-motor development and infant sex and…

This curriculum was designed as a learning sequence for the adults in charge of a group care center for infants. For example, the sequence of the steps in the child's motor development (e.g., reaching) are described, and some activities and materials appropriate to each step are suggested. Other areas for developmental sequences and activities…

Only recently has the research on postpartum depression dealt with the disorder's effects on child development. This book explores the impact of postpartum depression on mother-infant interaction and child development, its treatment, and postpartum psychosis. The chapters are: (1) "The Nature of Postpartum Depressive Disorders" (Michael…

This book investigates children's security of attachment in infancy and its relationship to their cognitive development in the preschool years, presenting evidence that caregivers' proclivity to treat their infants as mental agents and to attribute intentionally to their behavior is critical to their child's cognitive development. The book…

In two experiments, the ability of children younger than 20 months to engage in delayed ordered recall was investigated. In the first experiment, 13- and 16-month-old children were presented with 2-step event sequences and tested for recall, first, immediately following the event and second, after a one-week delay. Sequences were novel-causal,…

Two studies tested the observation that infants learn to use a "whole object assumption" between the ages of 8 and 15 months, meaning that they expect a word to apply to the whole object to which it refers. The first study investigated the possibility that infants of 8 to 10 months may attend differently, and more selectively, to events…

Observations were made of the incidence of pointing behavior among infants differing in age when a radio-controlled truck entered the room in which mother and infant were seated. Infants' reactions over 5 to 6 minutes were recorded on videotape. Recordings were analyzed to establish the incidence of pointing, handedness of pointing, whether…