Maternal responsive and directive speech to children at ages 0;10 and 2;0 was investigated by applying a procedure frst introduced by Flynn and Masur (2007) to a new language community (Finnish). The issues examined were consistency and stability over time, and also the role of responsiveness and directiveness in child linguistic development at…

This document reports the case of 2-year-old girl who demonstrated verbal ability at home but who communicated through nonverbal means in the preschool classroom setting. Baseline data was collected by classroom observation for approximately 32 minutes per day during a 6-day period using an interaction process analysis format. Verbal and nonverbal…

An interaction analysis observation instrument, with categories found in the definition of "executive competence" by Wenar and related to R. White's effectance motivation, was used to observe 37 toddlers with their mothers. (SB)

Study reports a technique for analyzing and categorizing certain gross features of the receptive language environment which constitute the primary source material for all of a baby's language learning. (Authors/MB)

This study focuses on the significance of specific maternal language teaching techniques in the early language development of the child. A recording was made of the verbal and nonverbal interactions in 20 mother-child dyads during a one-hour session in the home. The linguistic level for each of the children, who ranged from 1.9 to 5.0 years in…

It was suggested that working-class mothers less frequently believed that their infants were capable of communicating with other people, and hence felt it was futile to attempt to interact with them verbally. (Authors)

A sample of 43 boys and 43 girls (aged 32 to 63 months) was observed during interactions with a 13-month-old infant in a structured situation in a day care center. Attendance in an area surrounding an empty playpen, and behaviors in that area, were recorded on four preliminary days to adapt children to observers and measure baseline behavior; on…

Examines the timing of partners' talk in mother-infant engagements over infant age to determine whether variations occur in the incidence of the alternating mode. Findings reflect the facilitative effects of covocalization in preverbal infants and the need for the alternating mode with older infants. (31 references) (Author/CK)

This study explored the relationship between maternal sensitivity and the development of mother-infant vocal interaction. Two characteristics of mother and infant vocalizations were assessed at six and nine months in a home feeding situation: (1) the degree of mutual responsiveness, and (2) the affective quality of vocalization. These assessments…

This paper discusses findings from a study of the speech patterns of 10 mothers interacting with their own younger child, their own older child, and with an adult. Results are discussed in terms of the temporal-acoustic pattern and content of the mothers' speech. Two claims are made about the kinds of speech a child hears: (1) The flow of speech…

Social interaction and play behavior were compared in community-based infant day care and at home for two matched groups of 18-month-old infants. Adult-infant, infant-peer, and infant-toy interaction were time-sampled. (Author/SS)

This study investigates similarities and differences in the interactions of infants with mothers and fathers, and examines the structural characteristics of social interaction between infants and fathers. Data are based on analyses of videotapes showing face-to-face interaction of five healthy first born infants with their mothers and fathers. The…

Descriptive data on a wide range of family day care homes and on children's experiences within those homes were obtained in this study. Additionally investigated were the effects on caregiver and child behavior of six central family day care issues: (1) home regulatory status, (2) number and age mix of children, (3) regional differences, (4)…