Learn what prominent theorists say about bonding, attachment, separation and stranger anxiety, and the best practices for infant care. This introductory guide makes it easy to learn about John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, Magda Gerber, John Kennell, Marshall Klaus, and T. Berry Brazelton.

This study examined both differential patterns and the stability of infants' (N = 70) distress reactivity across mother and stranger arm-restraint conditions when infants were 6 and 9 months of age. Reactivity measures included observational variables for the rise, intensity, and duration of infant distress as well as motor activities associated…

Relations between infant-mother attachment security at 15 months and infants' (N = 206) joint attention behaviors (a) with an experimenter at 8 and 15 months, and (b) with their mothers at 15 months were investigated. No concurrent or longitudinal relations were observed between attachment security and infants' tendency to respond to an…

Disorganized attachment in infancy is known to predict a wide range of maladaptive outcomes, but its origins are poorly understood. Parental lack of resolution concerning loss or trauma has been proposed to result in atypical parenting behaviors, which in turn have a disorganizing effect on the parent-child relationship. The authors review the…

The reactions of 24 eight-month-old infants and their mothers were observed when approached in a standard laboratory situation by female strangers whose approach was either fast or slow. Mothers were significantly more "wary" than infants, particularly as the proximity of the stranger increased. (Author/RH)

Cardiac and behavioral reactions to strangers were measured in 5-, and 9-month-olds. Results indicate that: (1) behavioral differences between 5- and 9-month-olds are reflected in heart rate differences, (2) there are differences in heart rate but not behaviors when mothers are absent, and (3) heart rate response is linked to affective expression.…

A comparison was made of the behaviors of 64 12-month-old infants in situations where adult female strangers played either an active or a passive role. (Author/JMB)

In response to criticisms of a study conducted by Shaffran and Decarie, the author underscores the need for objective, accurate peer evaluation. Errors and misinterpretations in the critical article are reported and corrected. (Author/RH)

Replies to Solomon's paper that basic criticisms made earlier of Shaffran and Decaries' study still apply. Views the study as essentially a confirmation of the null hypothesis based on weak measures. (Author/RH)

This study tested the hypothesis that one year old infants' wary behavior toward an unfamiliar female adult would decrease and affiliative behavior would significantly increase in the course of a relatively brief period. (Author/SB)

This study shows that 12-month-old infants direct more distal/affiliative behaviors to their fathers and show no preference between parents in proximal/attachment behaviors. However, with a stranger present, more proximal/attachment behaviors are directed toward the mother with no preference shown in distal/affiliative behaviors. (JMB)

The facial expressions of twenty-eight 13-month-old middle-class children were videotaped during the 3-minute separation episode of the Ainsworth strange-situation procedure. Anger was the dominant negative emotion expressed by the majority of children; patterns of emotion expression varied with type of attachment; and the proportion of time anger…

Examined whether an infant's reaction to a stranger would be indirectly influenced by the infant observing a stranger-third party interaction. Subjects were 45 15-month-old infants. Results suggest indirect effects influence social interactions and show that significant others can play an important role in mediating these effects. (Author/RH)