In this article, the author synthesizes research from several disciplines to shed light on play's central role in healthy development. Gordon builds on research in attachment theory that correlates secure attachment in infancy with adult well-being to demonstrate how playfulness might be a lifelong outcome of secure attachment and a primary…

We argue that infant meaning-making processes are a central mechanism governing both typical and pathological outcomes. Infants, as open dynamic systems, must constantly garner information to increase their complexity and coherence. They fulfill this demand by making nonverbal "meaning"--affects, movements, representations--about themselves in…

Interactions of adults with a single infant, dressed as either a male or female, were recorded and analyzed for direction of gaze, facial expression, physical contact, and toys used. Interviews followed. Results shows that both male and female parents behave differently toward unfamiliar infants on the basis of perceived sex. (AOS)

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…

Twenty male and 29 female active-duty Air Force personnel viewed and listened to videotapes of a crying infant and a smiling infant while heart rate, skin resistance, and respiration rate were monitored. Males showed a larger increase in skin conductance and heart rate than females during the crying infant stimulus. (Author/CR)

Assessed infants' attachment behaviors toward nonparental adults, including grandparents, other relatives, and family friends. Found that the extent of infants' attachment behavior to nonparental adults was related to infant-mother attachment behavior and to the nonparental adult's responsiveness in teaching and position in the mother's social…

In follow-up studies conducted 36 hours, 3 months, and 12 months after delivery, maternal behavior, infant behavior, the duration of breast feeding, and attitudes toward child rearing procedures were shown to develop differently among mothers and infants receiving physical contact soon after birth as compared to control subjects who were briefly…

A project to determine how children and members of their social environment regulate the stimulation they receive from each other is presented. The general procedure employed was the descriptive and experimental analysis of the behavior of subjects in social interaction situations, as recorded on videotape. Types of dyads videotaped include…

This paper presents two studies of the development of social competencies in infancy. In the first experiment, the central issue investigated was whether facial configuration or height is utilized by infants to respond differentially to children and adults. Five different strangers, a male and a female child, a male and a female adult, and a small…

Only recently has the research on postpartum depression dealt with the disorder's effects on child development. This book explores the impact of postpartum depression on mother-infant interaction and child development, its treatment, and postpartum psychosis. The chapters are: (1) "The Nature of Postpartum Depressive Disorders" (Michael…