This study examined the effect of different types of loss of control on the quality and quantity of the frustration response in 4- to 6-month-old infants. To establish an expectancy, all infants received 4 minutes of contingency training in which infants were presented with slides and music after they performed a pulling response with their right…

Investigated infants' reactions to the face-to-face/still-face paradigm. Infants reacted to the still-face with negative affect, a drop in vagal tone, and an increase in heart rate. By contrast, they reacted to the reunion episode with a mixed pattern of positive and negative affect. (HTH)

Examined relations between reactivity (peak response) and regulation (response dampening) in 6-month-olds' cortisol and behavioral responses to inoculation. Found that reactivity and regulation were unrelated for both cortisol and behavior, suggesting both measures are needed to characterize more accurately infant response to stress. Found…

Two studies investigated whether 10- and 12-month-olds can use televised emotional reactions to guide their behavior. Findings indicated that 12-month-olds avoided the target object and showed increases in negative affect after observing an actress orient toward a novel object with negative affect, but their responses to positive versus neutral…

Discusses the significance of emotional communication and social referencing of the mother by her infant as determinants of the infant's affective reactions to other social figures in the environment. (PCB)

Relations between temperament dimensions and attachment behaviors were evaluated. Results were consistent with previous findings that temperament measures do not predict attachment security. (PCB)

Investigated emotional responses to the still-face paradigm in preterm and full-term black infants. Preterm infants spent less time than full-term infants displaying big smiles in one episode, and showed a less pronounced decrease in big smiles in a second episode. Results confirm the robustness of the still-face paradigm. (HTH)

Examined the effect of maternal soothing to infant inoculation as well as everyday distress on infant cortisol and behavioral responses to stress in two samples of infants between 2 and 6 months of age. Found no evidence that maternal soothing reduced cortisol or behavioral-stress responses, despite evidence for cross-time stability and…

This study examined the behavioral (arm, facial) and autonomic (heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA], and adrenocortical axis) reactivity of 56 4-month-old infants in response to contingency learning and extinction-induced frustration. During learning, infants displayed increases in operant arm response and positive emotional…

This study examined the relation of infant emotional responses of anger and sadness to cortisol response in 2 goal blockage situations. One goal blockage with 4-month-old infants (N=56) involved a contingency learning procedure where infants' learned response was no longer effective in reinstating an event. The other goal blockage with 6-month-old…

Two parental questionnaires were developed for measurement of temperament in one- and two-year old children in Sweden. (MP)

While infants investigated a novel toy, their mothers made either facial or vocal expressions that were neutral, happy, or fearful. Results indicated that infants in the fearful-vocal condition looked at their mothers longer, showed less toy proximity, and showed more negative affect than infants in the neutral-vocal condition. Happy-vocal signals…

Two experiments tested whether newborns could discriminate their own and another newborn's cry. Results indicated that awake newborns expressed facial distress more frequently and longer to another newborn's cry than to their own. Sucking decreased significantly between pretest phase and first minute of another infant's cry. Asleep infants'…

Investigated from a dynamic systems perspective mutual regulation during naturalistic interaction of mothers with their 4-month-olds. Found that mothers and infants communicated primarily through vocal signals and responses. Levels of contingent responsiveness between partners were significantly associated and occurred within distinct behavioral…

Forty infants, 10 at 4, 6, 8, and 10 months, were confronted by an experimenter who acted out angry, happy, sad, and neutral facial experssions, accompanied with appropriate vocalizations. The infants' responses were recorded on video tape and rated for attention, negative and positive affect, and activity. Results indicate that the 4-month old…