Finds important differences between Quebecois and French mothers: the Quebecois mothers spoke more than French mothers and produced a greater number of assertive and expressive speech acts than the French mothers. Shows that speech used in both of these cultural groups varies according to the mother's child-rearing style, with coercive mothers…

This longitudinal, ethological study explores the development of communication behaviors, different types of social peer interactions, and mother-child interaction among 15 boys and 15 girls from 16 through 30 months of age. Each subject was filmed twice each month over a period of 14 months while he or she had lunch with 5 peers. Several subjects…