A group of 3-year-old children were observed in a Strange Situation immediately prior to admission to day care and again three months later. Their behavior was compared with that of a control group, matched in all respects except for the fact that their parents had no plans to enroll them in day care. (SB)

Results indicate that (1) social support is the best predictor of secure attachment and is most important for mothers with irritable babies, (2) maternal unresponsiveness is associated with resistance during reunion episodes and appears to be a mechanism through which anxious attachment develops, and (3) social support may mitigate the effects of…

Describes characteristics of the attachment behavior of 10 infants blind from birth. Behaviors studied were smiling, discriminating tactile behaviors, stranger avoidance and distress, and separation and reunion behaviors. (BRT)

Six infants were filmed at 15 and 30 weeks of age while alone and in the presence of an adult (mother or stranger) who interacted with the infant or remained passive. Signal detection analysis of ratings made by judges showed that infant behavior at both ages varied in accord with whether or not an adult was present. (Author/DB)

Relationships between day care and attachment were assessed with alternative procedures: (1) hypothesized normal patterns of attachment were tested naturalistically in day-care centers; (2) day-care and home-reared children were compared in a laboratory setting. (Author/MP)

Papers and discussants' comments from a symposium on issues concerning infants' reactions to strangers are presented. Researchers agreed that there is a developmental shift in infant behavior at 7 to 9 months of age when the infant becomes more cautious in approaching strangers. However, investigators hypothesize that the presence of the mother,…

In this study an attempt was made to measure variables which were expected to be related to individual differences in infants' social responsiveness toward strangers. The subjects were 48 infants (24 boys and 24 girls) between 8 and 13 months of age. Most were children of Cornell University faculty or graduate students, but a broad range of…

Twenty 18-month-olds were observed interacting with their mothers and fathers in a structured laboratory setting. Assessed were affiliation and attachment behaviors when the infant was alone with either the mother or father or with both parents and when stranger entered. (Author/MS)

This study was intended to determine whether differences in maternal attitude and behavior relate to differences in infants' Strange Situation security classification. Subjects for the present study were 38 white middle-class mothers and their normal, 1-year-old infants (20 male, 18 female). Infants who were classified as to the quality of their…

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…

This paper describes the results of a longitudinal study which compared the effects of three types of home-based, parent-oriented, infant education curricula. One curriculum stressed language, another stressed play, and a third stressed social development. Mothers and children from 108 middle and working class families received home visits…