To determine why the familiarization-novelty paradigm tends to underestimate the ability of infants under 4 months of age to detect unidimensional differences between stimuli, groups of 14- and 20-week-olds were given unidimensional discrimination problems of varying difficulty under conditions of brief and prolonged familiarization. (Author/JMB)

Examines whether infant awareness of efficacy and control relates to increases in socioaffective behavior. Focuses on the relationship between socioaffective behavior and infant experience of contingent and noncontingent events. Explores alternative means of assessing response acquisition. (RH)

Displaying no evidence of recognizing the axillary odors of their fathers, breastfed infants discriminated between their mother's axillary odor and odors produced by nonparturient or unfamiliar lactating females. Bottle-fed infants appeared unable to recognize the odor of their mother when presented along with odors from a nonparturient female or…

Videotapes of 50 mothers interacting with each of two siblings when each child was 12 months old showed that mothers behaved very similarly towards the siblings. Results suggest that differential maternal treatment of children at the same age in infancy is unlikely to be a major source of observed marked individual differences in siblings.…

In three experiments, one-year-old infants were observed responding to mechanical, noise-making toys that operated predictably or unpredictably. Interest centered on (1) whether increasing temporal predictability would reduce distress, (2) causes of reduction in distress, and (3) the role of information about the onset of each bout of stimulation…

The issue of pediatric euthanasia for handicapped newborns is examined and contrasting viewpoints emphasizing the quality and the sanctity of life are considered. The author asserts that advocacy for handicapped children involves decisions regarding the euthanasia question. (CL)

Examined the associations between sensorimotor and early communication abilities in three groups of children with mental ages ranging from two to seven months, eight to 13 months, and 14 to 21 months. Data were used to determine the generality of the local homology described by Bates, Benigni, Bretherton, Camaioni, and Volterra (1979). (RH)

The data indicate no relationship between maternal and fetal data. Moreover, there are clear developmental patterns of resting cardiac response over the first year of life, with rate and variability showing linear decreases. (Author/WY)

The temporal organization of spontaneous movement in healthy, awake neonates was studied on the second or third day after birth. Movement was recorded using time lapse photography and quantified as a function of time. Evidence of intrinsic temporal organization among subjects was found. (MP)

Indicates that Kemler raises a number of important issues needing resolution before the understanding of infant categorization is complete, but claims Kemler misunderstands both the goals of the Husaim and Cohen experiment and the extent to which the goals were met. (Author/RH)

Forty-eight four-month-old infants were tested in a habituation-dishabituation discrimination paradigm using vertically symmetrical, horizontally symmetrical, and asymetrical forms. Results suggest that babies respond to "goodness of organization" rather than to details unique to particular symmetrical patterns. (Author/RH)

Two-month-old infants were examined to determine whether, during localization of peripheral target, step size and number of steps were determined prior to the first saccade in a localizing series. It was found that on the majority of trials, a series of saccades was made toward the target hemifield. (Author/RH)

The language acquisition process in the hearing infant is reviewed and its potential as a model for an initial language program for the deaf child is considered. (Author)

To study sensitivity to radial location of an odor source, 20 human newborns, ranging from 16 to 130 hours of age, were presented with a small amount of ammonium hydorxide. (Author/JMB)