Facial configuration and height were systematically varied as four different strangers--a male and female child, a female adult and a small female adult (midget)--each approached 40 different infants. The infants responded as if there were 3 classes of persons, suggesting that both size and facial configuration cues were used. (Author/SB)

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…

Postcards containing a message either favorable or unfavorable for the recipient, were "lost" in the public transportation systems of Paris, Madrid, London, Geneva, and Frankfurt. More postcards were returned when the message was favorable but only in high importance conditions. This pattern did not occur in Madrid. (Author/BEF)

The responses of 18 Down's syndrome infants in a modified "strange" situation were recorded. The results indicated that these infants were aware of the exits and entrances of both mother and stranger. (Author)

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)

An analysis of newspaper reports, political policy papers and social science investigations, uncovers a coherent world of beliefs concerning minority-majority relations. These beliefs, centered around stable but vague notions of culture, nation, state, democracy, and human rights, reveal a society profoundly troubled by the idea of diversity,…

In this article we report on part of a small-scale study into the experiences of 28 British-born Asian and black, and overseas student teachers, who were following both Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and school-based routes to qualified teacher status (QTS), in Sussex and Kent. The results indicate worrying degrees of racism,…

This article outlines certain problems and challenges facing the qualitative researcher who enters fields that are either extremely difficult to access or potentially hostile towards outsiders. Problems and dilemmas in such contexts are highlighted by reference to fieldwork research among PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party) guerrillas in North…

This study examined infants' reactions to new people by manipulating the social context in which infants became acquainted with new people. Infants (N=48) met someone new in the presence of another unfamiliar adult and their mothers. The new acquaintance either: (1) chatted and worked on a puzzle with the mother; (2) remained silent and worked on…

No differences were found between home-care and day-care 4- and 5-year-olds on dependency measures. However, home-care girls sought proximity toward their mothers significantly more often than home-care boys, while day-care girls did not differ from day-care boys. This suggests that day-care children may be less sex typed than home-care children.…

This paper focuses on difficulties and possibilities of theory and research on emotional attachment in humans and problems associated with exclusive reliance on the Strange Situation procedure in cross cultural research. After specifying emotional consequences of qualitatively different attachment histories and appropriate ways of assessing their…

Results of a series of studies suggested that excessive early vocal stimulation may be detrimental to infants' cognitive processing, and that optimal development may be associated with a moderate amount of early stimulation. Study 1 involved 59 3-month-old infants and their mothers. Study 2 observed 23 mothers and infants seen 3 months after the…