Discrepancy between angl head turn and loudspeaker location was measured on infants in auditory-alone and auditory-visual trials. Age and loudspeaker location had no effect on performance in auditory-visual trials. However, in auditory-alone trials, there were significant age differences. (PCB)

Four current approaches to understanding temperament are discussed. Theorists representing four postions--Goldsmith, Buss and Plomin, Rothbart, and Thomas and Chess--outline their views by reponding to six common questions. Commentaries highlighting differences and similarities between the positions are offered by Hinde and McCall. (Author/BN)

This study of maternal interactive behavior with disabled infants examines infants across a range of intellectual ability with and without additional physical handicap. Interactions of four groups of infants, equally divided in terms of two-year IQ/DQ, and seen longitudinally at 12, 18, and 24 months, were videotaped. (Author/BN)

Pairs of unacquainted preschool children and infants were observed in a playroom. Each infant's mother attempted to engage the child in interaction with her baby. Results of this study were compared with a previous study in which mothers did not attempt to facilitate interaction. (Author/PCB)

Investigated deferred imitation ability for six actions in 14-month-old infants. After a week's delay, infants were tested on their ability to imitate the actions.Those who had been exposed to modeling produced significantly higher instances of the target actions. (SKC)

Four experiments investigated the role of geometric path type in infants' ability to make spatial inferences about the location of a hidden object after the infants had been moved. In all but the fourth experiment, infants were able to retrieve the objects unless objects were located behind the infants. (SKC)

Two studies are presented that document the spontaneous development by normal infants of nonverbal gestures to symbolically represent objects, needs, states, and qualities. These gestures are shown to be a typical phenomenon of early development and to function in ways similar to early verbal symbols. (PCB)

Statistical analysis of many studies on Piaget's stage 4 object concept attempts to synthesize available quantitative data. Factors of this "meta-analysis" include: (1) effects of age; (2) number of A trials; (3) length of delay between hiding and search; (4) number of locations; and (5) visual properties of hiding arrays. Includes…

Forty-three caregivers of infants under 18 months of age in 28 day care centers were observed for their: (1) initiation of interaction and response to infants, (2) stimulation of infant play, and (3) use of affect, vocal, visual and tactile communications. (Author/RWB)

When 96 mothers and 46 fathers of 6- or 13-month-old infants independently generated behavioral cues they believed contributed to their perception of their infant's recent easiness/difficultness, few systematic differences were found between easy and difficult infants, 6- and 13-month-olds, males and females, and firstborn and later-born.…

Groups of 17-, 23-, and 29-week-olds were habituated to slides of women posing facial expressions varying display of teeth affect; subjects were then shown slides of women posing the familiarized expressions plus a toothy smiling expression. In a second experiment older subjects also proved to be insensitive to affect-related aspects of still…

Reviews the controversy concerning open versus closed adoption in terms of the consequences for the biological parents, adoptive parents, and adopted child. Arguments are caught up in theoretical dialectics and cannot be resolved without longitudinal research. Concludes with suggestions regarding clinical practice in adoption pending further…

Findings from studies exploring role of joint attentional focus in children's acquisition of language indicated that language of 24 mothers and their 15- to 21-month-olds inside episodes of joint attentional focus involved more utterances, shorter sentences, more comments, and longer conversations than outside of episodes. Also, object references…

Fifty-three infants were observed at 6 and 12 months during two 24-minute play sessions and administered Bayley Scales of Infant development at 6 and 12 months and McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities at 30 months. Findings indicated that infant behaviors predicting competence change with age; mastery behavior appears to predict development…

Infants five and seven months of age participated in two studies in which two filmed facial expressions were presented with a single vocal expression characteristic of one of the facial expressions. Seven- , but not five-month-olds, increased their fixation to a facial expression when it was sound-specified. Preferences for a particular expression…