This study explored the development of verbal behaviors of infants during two mother-infant games. The verbal behaviors produced during games were compared with the results of language tests administered during experimental sessions. Strong correlations were found between the results of these two measures of language. (JL)

Investigated the interactions of married couples at play with infant sons and daughters. Found that maritally distressed parents of boys more commonly displayed hostile-competitive coparenting behavior, whereas distressed parents of girls were more likely to show discrepant levels of parenting involvement. Findings also indicate the importance of…

This essay reviews empirical evidence that suggests that emotion type and emotion intensity are associated with distinct and independent patterns of frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in infants. The role of the frontal lobe and related brain systems in emotion expression and regulation is also discussed from a developmental…

This article suggests the use of marketing techniques to disseminate information products to parents of young children with disabilities. A marketing plan might include the following steps: determination of market needs, market segmentation and target marketing, marketing goals and objectives, marketing strategy, marketing mix tactics, and control…

Empathic responsiveness and affective reactivity to infant stimuli were examined in matched groups of mothers (n=45) at either high or low risk for physical child abuse. Low-risk mothers showed an increase in empathy following presentation of a crying infant, whereas high-risk mothers showed no differences in empathy across infant conditions.…

Five studies examined the contributions of syllable-ordering and rhythmic properties of syllable strings to 6- and 9-month-old infants' speech segmentation. Results indicate that the capacity for integrating multiple sources of information in speech perception emerges between 6 and 9 months, in rough synchrony with the emergence of integration in…

Three experiments examined infants' perceptions of their own leg movements as presented to them via online video that varied the spatial orientation and directionality of movement. The infants looked significantly longer and generated significantly more leg activity while looking at the view displaying a left-right inversion than while looking at…

Reviews the literature on the relation between early memory development and corresponding changes in brain development of infants. Finds that an adult-like form of explicit memory emerges between 8 and 12 months of age, drawing heavily on limbic and cortical structures. Offers theoretical perspectives for studying the ontogeny of memory. (JW)

Two experiments examined whether 40 infants would reenact what an adult did or intended to do: (1) infants observed an adult unsuccessfully attempt to complete 4 target acts; and (2) children observed a mechanical device tracing the adults' actions. Infants could infer adults' intentions and imitate target acts, suggesting that children can…

Examined the nature of infants' development of social knowledge and the role of caregivers' verbal responses to requests in learning about self and others. Found that, as indicated by changes in request-making behavior, children's conceptualization of the role of self in making requests changes with age; the nature of children's conceptualization…

Ten infants, 2 to 11 months of age, who tested positive for cocaine at birth, were assessed by means of the Battelle Developmental Inventory and a questionnaire administered to the infants' foster parents. Seven of the infants evidenced measurable delays that legally (in California) mandated intervention. The most effective caretaking behaviors…

Six-month-old African-American infants' expectation of a visual stimulus was related to developmental measures. Reaction time was related to eye fixation in tests that measured visual recognition memory (VRM) and presented objects of different shapes to the infant. Reaction time and infants' stimulus expectation predicted VRM novelty preference.…

The acquisition of the formational aspects of American Sign Language signs was examined in nine young children of deaf parents. Videotape records of early sign language development were made during monthly home visits. The study focused on the acquisition of three principal formational components of any American Sign Language sign: location,…

Examined maternal employment decisions after birth of first child. Findings from 164 new mothers revealed that occupational status, family income, role commitment, division of labor, and job stress distinguished mothers who returned to employment and those who stayed home throughout first year. Financial need was most important reason for…

This case study of a toddler with autism whose parents had videotaped her development from birth showed that the child's behavior and development were essentially normal for the first year but that she then became withdrawn in only a few months. It is suggested that early communicative screening tests might have identified the child's earliest…