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…

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…

This study compares interactions between infants and parents to interactions between infants and strangers. Infants from 2 weeks to 6 months of age were taped in face-to-face interactions with unfamiliar male and female adults. Tapes of parent-infant interactions were available from a prior study. Specific infant and adult behaviors were coded and…

Reviews recent research on mother-infant communication that takes into account both the infant's and parent's influences in interactions. Topics discussed include varieties of infant communications, cross-cultural research, the beginnings of communication patterns, assessment of communication effectiveness, and sequelae of differing mother-infant…

In this study of maternal interpretations of infant behaviors, seven mothers of infants with Down syndrome identified 18 of 22 subcategories of potentially meaningful infant behavior previously identified by mothers of typically developing infants. These seven mothers also identified an additional category: developmental status-abilities.…

This paper explores the effects of infant predominant state of arousal upon very early mother-infant interaction, through observation of a group of 20 healthy 3-day-old nursery roommates and their mothers during hospital feeding sessions. In an experimental procedure involving a modified time-sampling technique, two observers simultaneously…

This paper briefly reviews studies pertaining to the imitation of facial gestures in early infancy. It is suggested that imitation provides for the initiation of a reciprocal exchange between mother and infant, but does not sustain such an interaction, since this requires a continually varied and changing pattern of gestures. Thus there is an…

This paper describes five experimental studies which explored the influence of fathers' home caregiving and interactional characteristics on their infant's laboratory behavior. Approximately 300 families with children ranging in age from 6 to 24 months were studied. Each infant's reactions were observed as a function of the manipulation of the…

This study examines the degree to which young children are influenced by the familiarity of an adult participant in their pretend play with toys which vary in resemblance to highly prototypical objects (e.g., cup-like cups or doll-like dolls). A group of 29 children, mean age 21 months, was divided into two experimental groups balanced by sex; 15…

This study investigated infant crying as a form of communication, with fear considered only one of many possible motivating emotions. Crying, along with fretting and withdrawal, are the major ways infants have to indicate that they desire to change the present situation. Subjects were 91 white, middle class infants whose mothers wete their primary…

The present series of studies was undertaken to explore intersensory processing in the very young. In the first experiment 1-, 4- and 7-month-old infants experienced simultaneously their mothers' faces and voices. The various conditions consisted of displacing the voice from the face. The results indicated that infants as young as one month of age…

In this study an attempt was made to measure variables which were expected to be related to individual differences in infants' social responsiveness toward strangers. The subjects were 48 infants (24 boys and 24 girls) between 8 and 13 months of age. Most were children of Cornell University faculty or graduate students, but a broad range of…

The purpose of the observational system presented here is to record the behavioral interactions between infant and mother, focusing on the sequential and contextual features of the social communication patterns accessible through direct home observation of mothers and their 3- to 4-month-old infants. The present system of continuous data recording…