Examined data on cognitive ability of mono- and dizygotic twins who ranked in the bottom 10th percentile of cognitive ability at 14, 20, 24, and 36 months. Statistical analyses suggested that there is a genetic etiology in low cognitive ability groups and that the stability of low cognitive ability over time is due primarily to genetic factors.…

Assessed 14-week-olds' attention to green or red target objects moving in a field of distracting objects that varied in color. Found that infants' detection of green moving targets was masked in the presence of mixed red and green objects. Masking was not observed for red targets or for green targets in a field of green objects. (BC)

Examined changes in spouses' experiences of their mates and marital relationships from last trimester of pregnancy through 3 years postpartum. Found 4 distinct patterns of marital change (accelerating decline, linear decline, no change, modest positive increase). Findings from 128 families revealed that patterns of marital change were determined…

Examines phonetic variation in multisyllable babbling of infants from 7 to 11 months of age. The investigation was to verify assumptions that, in infant vocal development, there is a systematic increase in the phonetic variation of these babbles, and separate stages of repetitive and nonrepetitive babbling are posited. (22 references) (GLR)

Examined data from state of North Carolina to test assumption that inordinately high Black teenage pregnancy rate accounts for difference between Black and White infant mortality rates. Results suggest that poverty, not race, plays crucial role in infant mortality. (Author/NB)

Results indicated that habituated 20-week-olds showed evidence of color constancy, but habituated 9-week-olds did not. The younger subjects responded with increased attention to simulated changes either of the illuminant or of surface reflectance, whereas older subjects responded with increased attention only to simulated changes of surface…

Investigated the way in which forty 10- to 20-month-old infants established an initial mapping between objects and their labels. Results indicated that language could increase infants' attention to objects beyond the time that labeling actually occurred. (RJC)

Evaluated psychological mechanisms underlying imitation of facial actions in 40 newborn infants. Results showed imitation of head movement and a tongue-protrusion gesture. Subjects imitated from memory after displays had stopped. (RJC)

Studied hand-mouth coordination in 40 infants of 1-3 days. Sucrose solution was delivered intraorally every 2 minutes. Results provide evidence for sucrose as a calming agent and for a coordinative behavorial system that integrates hand-mouth activity in supine human infants. (RJC)

Studied facial expressions of 20 infants of 4 and 6 months during contingency or noncontingency learning. Differing emotional expressions and distinctive patterns of expressions characterized contingent but not control subjects. Results indicated that emotion and contingency learning were closely linked in young infants. (RJC)

The article describes the Intervention Program for handicapped children (birth to three years) and their families located at the University of California, Los Angeles. The program served 139 children and their families using a model which emphasized integration of young handicapped and nonhandicapped children within a developmental educational…

Results of two experiments involving 11-, 14-, 17-, or 20-month-old infants indicated that 14-month and older infants did not differentiate the combination of properties that affords containment and that understanding of the causal basis of that function did not begin to emerge until about 17 months. (RH)

Two experiments using event-related potentials (ERPs) investigated recognition memory in infants. ERPs were recorded to 100 identical aural stimuli. Fifty familiar and 50 novel stimuli were presented 24 hours later. Results suggest that establishment of memory trace involved a process by which responses to repeated events were more consistent when…

Three studies explored the nature of form-function relationships recognized by 14- and 18-month-old infants, with infants being tested on objects in which familiar correlations were either maintained or were violated. Infants at both ages noticed the violations, indicating recognition of the relationship between the forms and their corresponding…

Examines the problem of shaken baby syndrome (SBS), which involves the injury or death of an infant as a result of severe shaking. Advocates a national media campaign to promote awareness of SBS and to prevent needless injuries and deaths. (MDM)