Proposes, as an alternative to Sokolovian models, a model of early habituation based on selective adaptation of feature detectors. The model suggests that early habituation is attributable to the organization and immaturity of the young infant's visual system. (RH)

Studies the reactions of 24 infants 18 to 24 months of age to simulated and naturally occurring incidents of distress in others. Additionally investigates the relationship between self-recognition and infants' prosocial or altruistic responses to others in distress. Results provide strong evidence for infants' tendencies to help and comfort.…

This study tested the hypothesis that one year old infants' wary behavior toward an unfamiliar female adult would decrease and affiliative behavior would significantly increase in the course of a relatively brief period. (Author/SB)

Data is from a short-term longitudinal study conducted at the Institute of Human Development which involved presenting two weeks of a special contingency experience to infants between their eighth and tenth weeks. (Authors/MB)

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)

Reviews research that uses autonomic responses of human infants as dependent measures. Focuses on the history of research on the autonomic nervous system, measurement issues, and autonomic correlates of infant behavior and systems. (RJC)

Suggests a framework for understanding infancy that is derived from the papers collected in this January l990 issue of the Merrill-Palmer Quarterly and provides a summary of the information provided. (RJC)

Under equivalent task conditions, assessed object and person concept attainment in securely and insecurely attached infants. Subjects were 16 male and 23 female infants from middle class families. (Author/RH)

Paper present the findings from a study focusing on the relationship between levels of object concept construction and achievements in several other branches of functioning. (Author/CB)

Presents a descriptive analysis of infant-adult face-to-face interaction, as well as the data for analyses of the relations between the two partners and the contribution of each one during the interaction. Subjects were five infants (aged 80-92 days) and their mothers. (MP)

Discusses the social development of infants in terms of a set of tasks which include identity, culturation, and reproduction. Focuses on the task of identity, the role of self-awareness in relationships, and the relationship between identity and emotional life. (RJC)

Develops a classification system for the physical environment based on 3 dimensions of stimulation. Intercorrelations of physical and social environmental measures obtained for 88 infants of 12 months supported the validity of the decision rule that nonresponsive animate stimulation is primarily physical rather than social. (RJC)

Summarizes study findings related to the effects of continuous monotonous stimulation on sleep and its physiological parameters in early infancy. (ED)

An account of studies conducted by author and others concerning Piaget's view of object concept development in infants. (HS)