Recent evidence indicates that subjects experience "distress" when they are beneficiaries of an inequitable distribution of rewards in a dyad. Yet, reinforcement theory postulates that individuals should experience more pleasure, the greater the reward they receive. An impression management hypothesis would reconcile these apparently opposing…

This study was designed to determine whether separation anxiety proneness in normal preschoolers is associated with distinctive ways of relating to other people. A total of 14 preschool children (6 girls and 8 boys) were rated for separation anxiety proneness by their parents prior to preschool entrance. The preschool teaching staff then rated…

This study measured infant responses to mother and stranger as a function of mother and stranger distance. A group of 10-month-old infants were pretested for level of object permanence and person permanence, and 18 males and 18 females were chosen as study participants. The infants were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: (1)…

This study analyzes the effects of one environmental property, illumination, as part of a general program to isolate differential effects of specific properties of the novel environment on attachment behaviors in infants and young children. Attachment is operationalized into two response classes: (1) proximity to the mother, and (2) contact with…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not infants who had experienced different types of naturally-occurring, significant separations from an attachment figure during the first year of life differed in their response to separation at 12 months of age. Thirty-three 12-month-old Caucasian infants from middle class, intact families…

A treatment and enrichment program for emotionally disturbed children based on the concept of bonding is described. The program, Developmental Play, is discussed as a model for training parents and child care workers. (SE)

Fourteen fathers were observed with their children in unstructured and semistructured situations at home. Mothers and children were also observed, with and without fathers. Observations were made when the children were 15, 20, and 30 months old and assessments of the children's intellectual competence were also made at these ages. (Author/JMB)

The serial drawing technique is described and use with two cases is discussed. Paper presented at World Federation for Mental Health Congress, Vancouver, 1977. (Author)

The purpose of the paper is to: identify the major types of cohabiting relationships; specify the personal characteristics and relationship characteristics of each cohabiting relationship type; and outline potential benefits and costs to the individual in each type of cohabiting relationship. Guidelines for counseling potentially cohabiting…

Reviews the major transitional object (TO) theories in terms of origin, development, and psychological meaning. Examines the validity of TO (intense, persistent attachments young children develop for blankets, soft toys, and bits of cloth) theory in light of current empirical knowledge of TO behavior. (HOD)

Addresses several important aspects of young children's involvement with security objects, including why certain children have them, how they are used, when attachments to such objects are cause for concern, and how teachers and parents can respond in ways that promote the young child's development. (BB)

The extent and function of the parent-child bond, conceptualized according to Ainsworth's model of attachment, was explored for 173 first-year college students. Students' description of their parental relationships resembled Ainsworth's secure attachment type. Most students viewed their parents as a secure, encouraging, and available source of…

Examines the relationships among different dimensions of empathy, communication, and prosocial behavior. Supports an altruistic interpretation of prosocial behavior and suggests that the egoistic model be reformulated. (JK)

Examined extent to which infant-mother attachment could be predicted by mother interactional variables and infant proneness to distress. Meta-analysis indicated that sensitive, responsive maternal interaction predicted the security of attachment in Ainsworth and Wittig's "strange situation." Proneness to distress, a temperamental variable,…

Considers Blos' conceptualization of adolescence as the stage when a second process of separation-individuation takes place. Notes various handicapping conditions may force adolescent to stay closer to family and hence interfere with adolescent's separation-individuation. Suggests that nature of interference will vary depending on whether the…