Extent that the mother represents the social stimulation to which the infant is exposed: Findings from a cross-cultural study

Investigated the extent to which the mother represents the social stimulation in her infant's vicinity during a regular day. 76 male infants (ages 2, 4, 7, and 11 mo) in the kibbutz, Bedouin, and middle- and lower-class environments were observed for an equivalent of a complete waking day. No differences were found among ages and environments in the total rate of social stimulation to which the infant was exposed from as many as 8 familiar people. However, environments and ages differed in the degree to which the mother represented that stimulation. The mother's representation decreased with age and was highest in the 2 home environments (i.e., Bedouin and lower-class). That general trend was not found for every separate stimulus system. Four stimulus systems were selected, out of the 107 studied, to illustrate possible kinds of divergence from that trend. Implications for studying cultural differences, age trends, and profiles of behavior in infancy are presented. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).