This study investigates similarities and differences in the interactions of infants with mothers and fathers, and examines the structural characteristics of social interaction between infants and fathers. Data are based on analyses of videotapes showing face-to-face interaction of five healthy first born infants with their mothers and fathers. The…

This study of language development was intended to chart the developmental course of the spontaneous use of negatives and affirmatives by 1 1/2 - 3-year-olds in response to true or false statements concerning familiar objects, properties, and actions. Forty children, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months of age, were assessed for knowledge of the words used…

The significance of three mothers' speech for their infants' language development is considered in a continuing longitudinal study. The study began when the children (two females and one male) were 5 and 6 months of age and will continue until the subjects are 3 years old. In the speech data reported the children were from 6 to 18 months of age.…

The major objective of this series of studies was to clarify the concept of mastery motivation and to develop measures of this concept applicable to 1-year-old children. Three studies were made with 44 infants, aged 12 to 13 months. The first study, "Aspects of Mastery Motivation and Cognitive Functioning," utilized structured situations…

In this study, twenty 3-day-old Caucasian neonates were observed before and during feeding in an attempt to demonstrate that individual characteristics of infants, such as alertness and social behaviors, are related to the interaction of mothers and infants during feeding situations. Ten of the infants were males, 10 were females; approximately 70…

Mother-infant interaction creates a context for socioemotional, behavioral, and cognitive development. This study used the Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS) and the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS) to examine mother-infant interaction in Japanese dyads. Subjects were residing in Hikkaido, Japan, and assessments were…

Traces encounters between mother and child that occur around nursing and feeding, which result in a powerful attachment. Identifies approaching solid foods and subsequent weaning as the place where detachment begins. Discusses locomotion as another way incremental steps toward independence are reached: crawling, walking, and pulling up with hands…

Part of a longitudinal study of women and their first-born children who have different employment and day care experiences during the children's first three years of life, this study focuses on the socioemotional development of children at 18 months of age, who had received at least nine months of continuous day care. Particular attention is given…

The vulnerability of children to developmental problems was studied in three groups of young children: (1) children with schizophrenic mothers (N=35); (2) children with severely depressed mothers (N=19); and children with well mothers (N=21). The children ranged in age from birth to 5 years, with 64 percent under age 2, and came from families who…

This study compared infants born to narcotic addicted mothers with infants born to nonaddicted mothers and described the potential of an intervention program. Infants of five addicted women were matched with infants of five nonaddicted women on the basis of age and socioeconomic class of the mothers and on the basis of gestational ages, birth…

This paper describes a cross cultural study of face to face interactions between American and Gusii mothers and their infants. Observations of the Gusii people of Western Kenya suggest that the direct expression of intense affect is de-emphasized through an avoidance of direct face to face interactions. The present study investigated (1) how and…

The research reported in this symposium paper attempts to underline a Piagetian distinction concerning object concept which has tended to be ignored by psychologists working along Piagetian lines. More specifically, this research tested the hypothesis that intellectual development plays a role in the development of stranger reactions. The subjects…

Presents an account of the development and use of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Discusses ways in which NBAS has increased understanding of development in the newborn, of states of consciousness in the infant, of prediction in development, and of a clinician's opportunities to share information with parents. (BC)

The development of and relationship between early language, symbolic play, sensorimotor skills, and social development were examined in a longitudinal study conducted in Japan with two young autistic males who were observed from the approximate ages of 2 to 4 years in clinic, day care, and home settings. One child acquired speech; the other did…

Synergistic psychology has been proposed as a meta theory for synthesizing different psychological theories into an explanation of how social, cognitive, and biological factors interact in human behavior. The basic theoretical assumption in synergistic psychology is that internalized social interactions become higher mental functions that regulate…