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Parent-infant interaction in 8-month-olds

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Abstract

Twenty 8-month-olds were observed interacting with their parents in a structured laboratory situation. Their responses to separations from each parent and the entrance of a strange adult were recorded. These events did not result in the predicted intensification of parental preferences. Before and after the “stressors,” infants showed slight and equivocal preferences for their mothers over their fathers. Implications are briefly described.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, USA

    Michael E. Lamb PhD

  2. The Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, 53706, Madison, Wisconsin

    Michael E. Lamb PhD

Authors
  1. Michael E. Lamb PhD
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Additional information

This study is one of a series of research projects carried out in the Ecology of Human Development Program under a grant from the Foundation for Child Development.

The author wishes to thank Thomas M. Achenbach and Mary D. Ainsworth for their comments on preliminary drafts of the manuscript, and Patricia Chernovitz, Jamie Lamb, and Judith McBride for their invaluable contributions to the collection and reduction of the data.

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Lamb, M.E. Parent-infant interaction in 8-month-olds. Child Psych Hum Dev 7, 56–63 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01464419

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01464419

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