Recent work on the development of the perceptual information-seeking function of the hand in relation to its motor-executive function is reviewed. (PCB)

Mothers' and fathers' socialization of one- and two-year-old children's sex-typed play behaviors was examined. For each parent, dyadic interactions were videotaped in the home on two occasions six months apart. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the social learning account of sex-role development. (Author/RH)

Tests infants' dual-process performance (a process mediating response decrements called habituation and a state-dependent process mediating response increments called sensitization) on visual habituation-dishabituation tasks. (HOD)

Analysis of videotapes recorded of three preverbal infants' communication attempts with their mothers revealed three behaviors: Negotiations occurred when mothers helped infants make their intents clear; Immediate Successes occurred when mothers readily comprehended the infants' intents; and Missed Attempts occurred when the mother failed to…

Used constant comparative analysis to examine written summaries of stresses encountered by 58 mothers and 54 fathers at the third to fifth postpartum months. Four categories of stress emerged: demands of parent, spouse, and worker roles; infant care; interactions with spouse; and interactions with other family members. (Author/NB)

Explains the need to establish alternate communication devices between mothers and their blind infants. Mothers must demonstrate a natural ability to respond to auditory and manual cues, rather than visual cues. The importance of "tactual intimacy" is also stressed. (AS)

Examines whether vocal exchanges between preverbal infants and their mothers show characteristics similar to those found to be typical of conversational exchanges between competent adult speakers. (HOD)

The Neonatal Network, a model program in Dallas for interagency service coordination for primarily indigent, minority, very-low-birth-weight infants and their families is described. The Neonatal Network has been an effective service delivery coordination system and training mechanism that should be applicable and easily replicable in other…

Examines 3-month-old infants' perception of "camouflaged" forms that were only visible when moving. Shows infants effectively use kinetic information to organize visual input in higher-order structures. (HOD)

Tested infants in their second year with a box task to determine whether they would show a hand preference in solutions involving complete differentiation of roles for the two hands. (HOD)

A recommendation to renorm the Bayley Scales of Infant Development is based on (1) high scores obtained on infants in rural North Carolina (N=305); (2) published means for other samples of infants born in the 1970s; (3) recent age placement revisions of items on the Gesell Developmental Examination. (Author/JW)

Mothers observed at 3 to 5 months postpartum interacting with their infants were given attitude questionnaires. Mothers who had reported preganancy problems were more depressed and anxious and expressed more punitive childrearing attitudes than mothers not reporting pregnancy problems. (Author/NH)

Investigates the influence of chronological age, mental age, and handicapping condition on mothers' interactions with their handicapped young children. A total of 111 handicapped children ranging in age from 3 to 36 months and their mothers participated. Infants' general functioning and handicapping conditions were related to maternal…

Compares the manipulative exploration of objects of 30 nine-month-old preterm infants with that of 20 nine-month-old full-term infants. Although no difference between the preterms and the full terms was noted, a high-risk preterm subgroup manipulated objects less. A relationship was found between manipulative exploration at nine months and later…

Highlights findings from three research studies. These studies focused on: (1) a comparison of various types of preschool day care; (2) infants as young as 14 months old who performed deferred imitation; and (3) a behavior modification technique called "guided mastery." (DH)