This article examines the view of infants as passive recipients of social stimulation. It is argued that progress in the understanding of sociopersonality development will be achieved only when the competence of infants and the multidimensionality of the infant social world are acknowledged. (MS)

The social networks that rhesus monkeys develop in nature are centered around multiple generations of matrilineal kin embedded in larger social groupings that have some degree of distinctiveness and permanence. Within each family, infants initially grow up in the care of their mothers and the close presence of relatives, and they subsequently…

Behavioral indicators of attachments of children to others are surveyed with emphasis on crying or cued by a mother's departures, separations or absences. Some risks in using single attachment indices are explored. (MS)

Studies the effects of mothers' presence and absence on two infants from birth to two years. (AJ)

Theoretical and research literature on the role of fathers in childhood development is reviewed. It is suggested that fathers may play an important but qualitatively different role in socialization than mothers and various research designs are suggested to test this hypothesis. (GO)