Presented are practical ideas parents can use to prevent and manage excessive crying during their infant's first year. Designed to foster the development of children's physical and emotional independence, the ideas discussed concern (1) the changing functions of crying throughout the infant's first year, (2) causes of crying, (3) the intellectual…

Results of a series of studies suggested that excessive early vocal stimulation may be detrimental to infants' cognitive processing, and that optimal development may be associated with a moderate amount of early stimulation. Study 1 involved 59 3-month-old infants and their mothers. Study 2 observed 23 mothers and infants seen 3 months after the…

This paper questions social interaction studies that use frequency or duration of behaviors in mother-infant relations as reliable measures of infant interactive competence. An infant's high score on frequency and duration tests may falsely indicate that the child is more communicative than other subjects. Such results may suggest that mother and…

Parent ability to diagnose the cause of non-contingent crying in an infant was investigated through use of a new methodological instrument. Problems programmed on a microcomputer presented 25 information units leading to only one correct causal hypothesis about infant crying and 25 information units similarly structured about an adult woman's…

In his article "The 'Effects' of Infant Day Care Reconsidered," Jay Belsky (see PS 017 108) concludes that maternal employment puts infants at risk for developing emotional insecurity and social maladjustment. After a review of Belsky's and other research, a different conclusion is offered in this paper. It is agreed that infants whose…

Observations in an infant day care program in which mothers take part indicated "jealousy" in infants as young as 5 months when they saw their mother or even the assigned caregiver paying attention to another infant. A total of 18 first-born females between 11 and 13 months of age were the subjects in a systematic study of this…

The booklet provides background information on the diagnosis and characteristics of autism. A chart portrays the signs and symptoms, followed by the definition of the syndrome by the National Society For Children and Adults with Autism. Associated features are noted along with information on age of onset, etiology, incidence and sex ratio,…

An investigation of Piaget's theory of object concept development through a series of six tasks administered in a combined longitudinal/cross-sectional design (which incorporated a number of methodological controls). Subjects were 36 infants who received the six tasks during each of three testing sessions over a 6-month period. (Author/ED)

Clarifies issues involved in use of heart rate as index of newborn attentional responsivity by reviewing related studies and concluding that heart rate variability can be used in studying attentional responsivity state, and intra-individual and individual variables. (ED)

Sex differences in the behavior of infants may have the potential for eliciting differential treatment from adults, regardless of whether or not adults consciously intend to encourage sex-differentiated behavior. The role of biologically-based sex differences in partially determining cognitive development is discussed. Availability information is…

Attempts to integrate the ethological interpretation of the Bell and Ainsworth findings on the promptness of mother reaction to infant crying, with operant laboratory infant research. Suggests an alternative operant interpretation based on the concept of counter conditioning. (Author/ED)

Study supported in part by Grant MH-10993 from the National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Public Health Service.

To investigate the relationship of differences in 2-year-old children's reactions to strangers to differences in their temperaments and their security of attachment with their mothers, a correlational study was conducted with 47 infants and their parents. In the first component of the study, both parents completed a child temperament rating…

The results obtained by researchers interested in the speech-time relationship indicate that the sequential organization through time of speech sounds necessary for communication requires a universal "grammar" consisting of vowel and consonant sequences and an awareness of the duration experienced in that process, as well as the memory…

One pathway through which second order effects proceed is "social referencing," a process in which the individual utilizes another's interpretation when appraising a situation. This phenomenon is well identified in adults and older children. While it had not been studied in infancy, there are good indications that the necessary cognitive…