Examined maternal care and infant attachment security in a sample from the United States (Colorado) and one from Colombia. Found that maternal sensitivity and infant security were significantly associated in both samples. Identified six common and two noncommon domains (one per sample) of caregiving; associations between domains of maternal…

Maintains that advances in the literature on perception-action development suggests that tool use may be a more continuous developmental achievement than previously believed. Suggests new research directions, including efforts to investigate the processes by which children detect and relate affordances between objects, coordinate spatial frames of…

Observed weekly 13 infants from 1 to 6 months of age to determine when they produced different types of smiling and other facial expressions. Found that the cheek-raise and open-mouth dimensions of smiling appear to be associated with, respectively, amplification of processes of sharing positive affect and of visual engagement present to a lesser…

This research unites traditionally disparate developmental domains--cognition and locomotion--to examine the classic cognitive issue of the development of inhibition in infancy. In 2 locomotor A-not-B tasks, 13-month-old walking infants inhibited a prepotent response under low task demands (walking on flat ground), but perseverated under increased…

To examine the development of triplets, 23 sets of triplets were matched with 23 sets of twins and 23 singletons (N138). Maternal sensitivity was observed at newborn, 3, 6, and 12 months, and infants' cognitive and symbolic skills at 1 year. Triplets received lower maternal sensitivity across infancy and exhibited poorer cognitive competencies…

The impact of differences in maternal self-efficacy and infant difficulty on mothers' sensitivity to small changes in the fundamental frequency of an audiotaped infant's cry was explored in 2 experiments. The experiments share in common experimental manipulations of infant difficulty, a laboratory derived measure of maternal efficacy (low,…

The ability to form secure attachments during early childhood promotes a lifetime of emotional health. This article describes emotional milestones for babies (i.e., activities that promote self-comfort and self-control), as well as for toddlers. In the case of toddlers, a profound emotional milestone that is accomplished during the first year is…

The Parent 'N' Me course at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, is for parents who wish to observe the competency of their 2- to 6-month-old infants, encouraging an infant-oriented environment that allows the infants to become attentive, active, exploring individuals who reward themselves in the mastery of new tasks. The course…

Noting that today's short hospital stays leave almost no time for educating parents on caring for a newborn, this viewer's guide and videotape explore what to expect the first month after birth. The first part of the viewer's guide presents an overview of the videotape and suggestions for discussion and research in the context of a parenting…

This study was designed to assess genetic influence on behavioral inhibition and its varying expression in 92 monozygotic and 86 dizygotic twin pairs. Infant behavior and mother-child interaction were observed and videotaped during structured play sessions at age 14, 20, 24, and 36 months. Analysis of the results suggests that most of the overlap…

This study examined the interaction between infant behavior and maternal ethnocentric attitudes and expectations. The ethnomethodological approach used in this study was guided by the assumption that it is essential for an investigator to consider the broad cultural context in which behavior is studied. The behavior of 80 African-American neonates…

Research findings are reviewed concerning infants' abilities to discriminate parents from other social stimuli during the first 6 months of life. The term "discrimination" is used to signify the ability of infants to respond differentially to two or more social stimuli. Studies reviewed are categorized in terms of the visual, auditory,…

A study explored whether socioeconomic status (SES) differences could be detected in 3-month-old infants' differential vocal responsiveness (DVR) to mothers versus strangers. The study also explored whether 3-month-olds' DVR was related to environmental variables, such as the mother's behaviors toward the infant in naturalistic conditions, the…

This study investigated whether the interactions of biological mothers and their offspring differ from those of institutional caregivers and infants in their charge. The subjects--43 three-month full-time Greek infants (22 home-reared infants and 21 from the institution, Babies' Center Metera) were studied while interacting with their primary…

Reported are three series of experiments analyzing the development of the visual function of infants. The first experimental series was aimed at the investigation of infants' reaction to moving objects. The second experimental series dealt with the analysis of the development of binocular vision in infants. The goal of the third series was to…