Developmental observations of diadic gazing in relation to the fear of strangers and social approach behavior.

Abstract

This report describes relations among maternal attitudes assessed during pregnancy, the frequency of mother-infant gazing assessed at 1 and 3 months of age, and 3 measures of approach-avoidance behavior, including infant-stranger gazing, assessed at 8 and 9/ months in 45 infants. For males, mother-infant gazing correlates positively with infant-stranger gazing and another social approach variable. The latter 2 variables and mother-infant gazing, again for males, correlate positively with antecedent maternal attitudes. For both sexes, stranger-infant gazing is intercorrelated with the other approach-avoidance variables. The possible significance of these relations is discussed.