Attempts to determine whether the stimulus dimension to which infants respond is different in fixed-trial and infant-control methodologies. Infants 10 weeks of age were shown four facelike patterns differing along two dimensions: number of elements and extent to which elements were organized to resemble the human face. (Author/RH)

Examines questions concerning (1) individual consistency in habituation rate to different visual stimuli and (2) individual consistency in habituation rate and exploratory activity. Twenty-four infants 4 months of age were habituated to four stimuli in two sessions, then observed in free exploration. Methodological aspects of habituation and an…

Reports the results of a study of the psychometric properties of a questionnaire designed to measure parents' perceptions of their baby's temperament and suggests directions for refinement in the assessment of infant temperament. (MP)

Discusses theories on the acquisition of early learning. The author suggests that an infant's innate physiological reflexes cause him or her to respond to adults in a way that stimulates the adults to model and reinforce socially acceptable behavior and communication patterns. (AM)

Coping ability was assessed in 12- and 18-month-old premature and full-term infants. An experimental barrier situation was used that consisted of a double fence of boards and boxes. The infant had to remove the barrier to reach the center. Only four of the 17 children who completed the task were premature. (Author/RH)

Investigates the degree to which object familiarity and motivational factors influence infants' search behavior in an object-permanence test. (Author/MP)

Responses of 80 10-month-old infants to brief maternal separation were observed in home and laboratory settings and in two conditions of maternal accessibility: mothers' exit door closed or open. Results show the importance of situational determinants in the investigation of infant attachment behavior. (Author/RH)

Investigates spatial orientation of infants, comparing behavior in the laboratory to behavior in the infant's home. Also investigates whether the infant relies on his body as a spatial reference system. (Author/SS)

To determine whether heart rate increase can be attributed to increased sucking amplitude for sweeter fluids, sucking and heart rate of 20 full-term infants were studied. (MP)

A replication study of directed reaching in children. In response to a visual stimulus the arm and hand movements of infants were videotaped and analyzed to determine whether the position of the ball affected the direction of the infants' extensions. (Author/SS)

Examines the relationship between an infant's sex and its capacity to maintain eye contact. Subjects were 15 male and 15 female newborn infants. (MP)

This study attempted to identify characteristics that distinguish approach as an attachment behavior from approach serving other behavioral systems. Locomotor approaches of 16 male and 10 female white middle-class infants to an attachment figure (mother) and to a nonattachment figure (visitor-observer) were examined under naturalistic conditions…

Preference for novelty, as measured with an exploratory behavior paradigm, was compared in 8-month-old full-term and preterm infants of matched conceptional age. Subjects were 64 infants, 32 full term and 32 preterm, with 16 males and 16 females in each group. (Author/JH)