Empirical studies have documented a variety of social abnormalities in infancy that indicate risk for later social and behavioral difficulties. There is very little research illustrating the presence of such behavioral vulnerabilities with frequent repeated measures, and the feasibility of designing interventions for improving social engagement in…

Discusses the social development of infants in terms of a set of tasks which include identity, culturation, and reproduction. Focuses on the task of identity, the role of self-awareness in relationships, and the relationship between identity and emotional life. (RJC)

Infant-toy and infant-adult interaction were observed in four conditions which varied the degree of adult-toy manipulation. Subjects were 48 infants 11-13 months of age. (Author/SS)

This research project, designed to examine social learning in infancy, attempted to examine the process of infant interaction through its beginning, middle, and end. Pairs of previously unacquainted 21-month-old children were observed in a laboratory playroom for 15-minute sessions on three consecutive days; on the fourth day, new dyads were…

Examines the extent to which an infant's social initiative resists or is modified by three variations in the behavior of adult responsiveness: repeated responses, varied responses, and eye aversion. (HOD)

Examines the effect of changes in the social and motor capabilities of infants on their daily social encounters. Home observations were made of the social interactions of 14 infants and their mothers when the infants were 6, 8, and 12 months of age. (CM)

Investigating learning by imitation in infants and young children, this study addresses itself to the following issues: whether there is systematic accommodation, whether this imitation follows a universal sequence, how the development of an act over many trials relates to the development of indicators over many months, and what the phenomenon…

Examines mother-infant and father-infant interaction over time at three different levels: dyadic, individual, and specific content. (Author/MP)

This paper reports an 18-month investigation of the differential effects of social context (i.e., characteristics of people in the child's immediate environment) on infants' positive social behavior. The social behaviors of 14 children from 1 to 2-1/2 years of age were observed at home and in a laboratory playroom. The social context was varied…

Discusses observations of sets of infant twins, aged 6 to 24 months, as they interacted with one another and with an unfamiliar peer. Assesses quality of infant-mother attachment. Finds twins are more likely to react with one another than with a peer. Results are discussed in relation to early peer relationships and attachment. (Author/RWB)

A 36-item observation instrument was developed for measuring appropriate social development in infants and toddlers. Checklist items indicated such behaviors as asking, protecting, comforting, lending, sharing, hugging, playing with, joining, laughing, smiling, looking at, performing request, leading, following, and conversing. Use of the…

This paper presents a study designed to determine if providing information to primiparous mothers about the behavioral characteristics of their infants would affect reciprocity in mother-infant interaction. Thirty married, Caucasian, middle class mothers of healthy, normally carried and delivered 48-hour-old first-born infants served as subjects.…

Presents an overview of social skill interventions with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and emphasizes parent training approaches, dyadic (parent-child) therapy, and treatment which directly change the child's behavior. Discusses the range of services which could be provided within the community to foster social competence in young children.…