Individual differences in infant attention are theorized to reflect the speed of information processing and are related to later cognitive abilities (i.e., memory, language, and intelligence). This study provides the first systematic longitudinal analysis of infant attention and early childhood executive function (EF; e.g., working memory,…

This longitudinal investigation of 84 infants examined whether the effect of 12-month attachment on 18- and 24-month exploration and sociability with unfamiliar adults varied as a function of newborn irritability. As expected, results revealed an interaction between attachment (secure vs. insecure) and irritability (highly irritable vs. moderately…

Examined whether early differences in stress reactivity were related to self-recognition at 18 months. Found that self-recognition was related to greater cortisol response and less rapid quieting at 6 to 18 months, whereas cortisol and quieting responses of 2- to 4-month-olds did not differentiate self-recognizers and non-self-recognizers,…

Factor scores from Bayley's Infant Behavior Record (obtained from 300 to 400 infants at six, 12, 18, and 24 months) were selected to represent three aspects of infant behavior: task orientation, test affect-extraversion, and activity. Findings indicate reordering of individual differences is age-related and that the reordering sequence is somewhat…

To document movement patterns and to examine developmental interrelationships, the ontogeny of rooting, lip, lateral tongue, mouth opening, biting, and Babkin reflexes and the development of emerging chewing behaviors were observed in two normal infants over a period from 1 week to 35 weeks of age. (Author/RH)

The concurrent and predictive relations of sensorimotor behavior and play to language in the second year were assessed among 19 preterm and 20 full-term infants tested at 13 1/2 and 22 months of age. Numerous associations between play and language were identified; sensorimotor behavior and language in the same age period were relatively loosely…

Confirms that aftereffects of prism adaptation can be obtained in infants between 5 and 9 months of age and that the magnitude of these aftereffects is comparable to those found in adult studies. Evidence of a shift in hand preference toward the direction of prism displacement was replicated. (Author/RH)

A reanalysis of first-year longitudinal data suggests that infants' reactions to a stranger up through the middle of the first year are attributed to a wariness of the unfamiliar while by 9 months, learned aversions which have their roots in prior disturbing experiences may become an important additional determinant. (Author/JMB)

Face-to-face interaction between 26 infants and their mothers and a relatively unfamiliar figure was observed longitudinally in the home environment when the infants were between 6 and 15 weeks of age. Normative findings indicated that infants became more responsive over this time period, whereas maternal behavior did not change. (Author/JMB)

Findings are discussed in an evolutionary context, and with reference to the popular belief that to respond to his cries spoils'' a baby. (Authors)

Describes longitudinal changes in premature infants' behaviors after various forms of stimulation were given during a standardized neurological examination. Regardless of conceptional age, arousal level increased as the examination progressed. Conceptional age influenced rapidity of change from lower to higher states of arousal and determined the…

Three questions are addressed: (1) Are infants as young as six months capable of interacting with a peer? (2) What type of social acts are used during these early encounters? and (3) Do toys facilitate the interactions? (Author/MP)

Examined fetal heart rate and movement in 31 healthy fetuses from 20 weeks through birth and at age 6 months. Found that more active fetuses were more difficult, unpredictable, unadaptable, and active as infants that were less active fetuses, and that higher fetal heart rate was associated with lower emotional tone, activity level, and…

Studied 112 preterm infants to determine developmental changes and stability of individual differences. Results indicate significant developmental gains with age, and highly significant individual stability of performance across age. (RJC)

A theory of infant skill acquisition was supported by observations, over a six-week period, of the bouncing activity of eight infants while they were supported in a harness assembly. Observed three stages of activity: an initial assembly stage, when movement was irregular and variable in period; a tuning phase of more periodic movement; a final…