Although early life experiences of language and parenting are critical for children's development, large home observation studies of both domains are scarce in the psychological literature, presumably because of their considerable costs to the participants and researchers. Here, we used digital audio-recorders to unobtrusively observe 107…

Naturalistic dyadic sequences of teaching and learning involving older and younger siblings were investigated in 39 middle-class dyads over a 2-year period in early childhood. Siblings were observed during ongoing interactions in the home setting for 6 90-min sessions at both Time 1 (older sibling "M" age = 4.4 years; younger sibling…

Early research on the socialization of Latino children has posited that mothers exercise authoritarian practices, compared with lateral reasoning (authoritative) strategies emphasized by Anglo mothers. This work aimed to categorize fixed types of parenting practices tied to the mother's personality rather than to culturally bounded contexts; it…

Forms of cooperation and sharing between infants and their parents were recorded in a play setting. Eight children at each age (12 months, 18 months, and 24 months) were observed. (Author/SS)

Naturalistically observed 52 preschoolers' responses to their crying peers. Found that variations in preschoolers' ways of responding were related to the children's temperament, friendship status, and interactive style with peers. (Author/BC)

Unobtrusive observations were made of 50 mother-child, 50 father-child, and 50 mother-father-child groups in an urban park playground in South Africa. The children ranged in age from one to five years. Each unit was observed for one four-minute sample. Results show similarity between father-child dyads and mother-father-child triads. (Author/BN)

Compares the interactions of 20 firstborn and 17 lastborn children with their parents and siblings. Children were observed at home for five 45-minute sessions. Oldest children differed from youngest children in emitting more behaviors to parents than to siblings and in receiving more negative responses from parents and siblings. (Author/CB)

Investigates infant preferences for interaction with mother v father, similarities and differences in maternal and paternal behavior, and the influence of a second parent's presence on parent-infant interaction. Families with infants 15 months of age were observed in their own homes. (Author/SS)

Mothers of about 100 toddlers completed the Toddler Temperament Scale when their children were 12, 18, and 24 months old. Other data sets were available for: (a) factors representing laboratory observations; (b) measures of mothers' temperament by mothers and by social workers; and (c) measures of the home and family environment by social workers.…

Videocameras and wireless microphones were used to study the peer relations of aggressive and nonaggressive children on playgrounds at two schools. Aggressive children were found to be verbally and physically aggressive once every 3 and 8 minutes, respectively, while nonaggressive children were found to be verbally and physically aggressive once…

Observers coded the behavior of 40 middle-class, traditional couples and their 5-month-old infants, and parents filled out attitude questionnaires. Fathers' sex-role orientation and both parents' views concerning the role of the father were found to be correlated significantly with observed levels of paternal activity. (Author/CB)

Examines maternal and paternal behaviors in 78 parent-child dyads in Mexican families. Observed patterns were found to run counter to traditionally held views of Mexican parental roles. Findings proved to be similar to those obtained in observational studies in the United States. (Author/CB)

Investigated the content and development of children's imitative behavior in the home. The data consisted of incidents of naturally occurring imitations of 24 children 16 and 29 months of age collected over a four-month period by mothers trained in observational recording. Immediate imitations decreased with age; deferred imitations increased with…

Investigates the antecedents of individual differences in cognitive/language competence for 121 24-month-olds who were also assessed at 6 and 13 months. Warm verbal interactions between mother and child at three ages were associated with child competence at 24 months. Socioeconomic status was also modestly correlated. (Author/CB)

Subjects were first, third and fifth graders of high, low, and average status who were observed during recess. Results suggested the need for additional consideration of contextual factors for a more complete understanding of the entry process. Prior findings from laboratory analogue research appeared to replicate in naturalistic conditions. (RH)