Investigated three-month-olds' abilities to discriminate and recognize smiling and frowning expressions of mothers and strangers. Discrimination and recognition occurred regardless of the adult who was involved; however, more infants discriminated the mothers' expressions than the strangers', and boys looked at their mothers' faces longer than did…

Infants were classified as high or low in differential vocal responsiveness (DVR), and tested for degree of response to stimulation by a stranger and to stimulation by their mothers. The infants' DVR classification was related to scores on the Stanford-Binet and the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities. (Author/SS)

A twin analysis was applied to infants' social behavior in standardized situations that permitted the comparison of social responding to mother and a stranger in different contexts. Twenty-one identical twin pairs and twenty-five fraternal twin pairs were observed in their homes using time-sampled observations of specific behaviors. (Author/SS)

Customarily, several parent figures rear black infants. The effects of this practice on infant-parent attachments have not been studied even though they provide the chance to test the attachment theory contention that infants form a primary attachment when several attachment figures are available. To study this issue, 21 male and 16 female black…

The applicability of the Strange Situation procedure and the ABC typology for Japanese infants is discussed by examining data from studies in which the Strange Situation procedure was performed with Japanese infants. Findings of a study conducted in Sapporo, Japan, are discussed and their implications are pointed out. The discussion concludes that…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between infants' attachment to mother and mothers' responsiveness to behaviors of her infant. Twenty-four male and 24 female 12-month-old infants and their mothers were videotaped at a laboratory in the Ainsworth-Wittig strange situation and in a series of subsequent situations designed…

Children classified as securely attached at 12 months interacted faster and more smoothly with the stranger than did avoidantly-attached peers. Microanalyses revealed different styles of interaction. Failure feedback increased efforts of securely-attached and decreased efforts of insecurely-attached children. After failure, securely-attached…

Reports use of the strange situation procedure to explore the effects of Israeli kibbutz child-rearing practices on the development of infant-mother, infant-father, and infant-caretaker attachment. (Author/NH)

A total of 87 infants 10 months of age received, either directly or indirectly, a positive nonverbal message, a neutral nonverbal message, or no message about a stranger. Infants, especially those with easy temperaments, were friendlier to the stranger when mothers had spoken positively, but only when the message was directly communicated.…

Aims of study were (1) test for independence in infant's attachment to parent, (2) test concept of security by viewing infants judged secure versus insecure with mother in situation designed to arouse apprehension, (3) examine effects of infant-parent relationships upon positive responsiveness to new persons, and (4) identify characteristics of…

Studied effects of strategies used by mothers to prepare a two-year-old child to be left with a stranger. Strategies differed, as did outcomes. Among the results, children given brief preparations remained with the stranger longer and played with more toys. (Author/DB)

Forty-nine German 12-month-old infants and their mothers were videotaped in Ainsworth's Strange Situation; a measure of quality of attachment relationships. Forty-six of these infants were videotaped again at 18-months with their fathers. Results are compared to American samples and discussed in terms of parental attempts to cope with the demands…

Forty middle-class mothers and their 12-month-old infants participated in an examination of the extent to which infant sociability and home experiences were correlated with cognitive capacity. (JMB)