Use of sex-typed clothing in the natural setting was both common and effective as a cue for strangers. Infants not dressed in sex-typed clothes were not identifiable by sex. The near universality of sex-typed clothing contrasted with the low salience it displayed in parents' answers. (Author/GC)

Findings argue for an increased emphasis on temperament research in the first postpartum months, for the development of more age-appropriate assessments, for the simultaneous use of multiple measures in such research, and for the continued inclusion of mothers as credible observers of infant behavior. (Author/RH)

Longitudinal data from 51 children with Down syndrome reared at home and participating in an infant stimultion program were evaluated. Results suggest that infant stimulation programs along with home rearing and training have improved the functions of children with Down syndrome. (Author/CL)

Reports a short-term longitudinal study of children at 13 months and at 18 months which supports the belief that patterns of emotion reflect early, persistent individual differences; they also reflect a developmental trend toward increasing complexity of emotional responses. (Author/NH)

Clinical techniques for visual screening of infants that are not used in routine pediatric examinations include optokinetic nystagmus, preferential looking, and visually evoked potential. Greater use of such techniques might increase success of nonsurgical remedial intervention. (CL)

Studies four groups of infants with iron deficiency but without anemia in an attempt to discover behavioral signs that can be used to index high-risk probability for iron deficiency. Solemnity in well-attached infants is suggested as a clinical sign to indicate the need for biochemical screening for iron deficiency. (AS)

Investigated relationships between mothers' perception of infants temperament at 6 months and their behavior toward their infants at 6 and 12 months of age among 40 firstborn Israeli infants. Temperamental intensity ratings were related to auditory stimulation and contingent positive vocalization for girls and to increased physical contact for…

Four groups of 18 adult listeners rated the tape-recorded cries of low- and high-risk infants on four Likert-type scale items. Results indicate that within-group methods of cry presentation accentuate the perceptual distance among cry types and may actually create many reliable differences that would not be found in between-group comparisons.…

Using a version of the "learned helplessness" paradigm, assesses mothers' performance on a solvable task following pretreatments that involved exposure to an infant cry but that differed in the mothers' ability to exert control over termination of the cry. Proposes that learned helplessness models are relevant to the study of…

Social mastery motivation in 11 Down syndrome (DS) and nondelayed infants was observed during social tasks that encouraged socially motivated behaviors and object-play tasks that did not. During object play, DS infants' object-directed behaviors were not appreciably lower, while social behaviors were. During social tasks, no significant difference…

Two studies were conducted in which college students and mothers were asked to rate unfamiliar infants shown on videotapes. Infants were described as either full-term or premature and as either male or female. Infants labeled premature were rated more negatively than those labeled full-term, but infants labeled male and female were rated…

Examined the development of pattern recognition in infant pigtailed macaques using the familiarization novelty technique. Results indicate that by at least 200 days postconception subjects show a consistently reliable visual response to novelty. (Author/RH)

Five experiments using identical reflex modification procedures on neonates and adults suggest developmental differences in processing auditory stimuli. Neonates failed to exhibit reflex inhibition by either prior acoustic or tactile stimuli. Adults exhibited robust reflex inhibition to these same stimuli. Developmental processes implied by these…

Similarities and differences between two cry clinics in Canada and New Zealand are offered, an example of a typical first session is provided, and some current issues are raised. (Author/KS)

Benefits of early intervention and the state of the art for services to special-needs infants and young children are described. An expanded federal role is recommended to encourage state programs including a phased-in mandate for service. Specific provisions of a federal mandate are discussed, including extension of P.L. 94-142 to birth.…