| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this research is to examine how temperamental features,known as innate character of infants, and features of mother's attitude and behavior toward nursing effect on infant's cognitive and socio-emotional development, especially on individual differences of selfrecognitive and linguistic abilities that appear in the second year.
This last academic year of project, two investigations were made when the infants were 18 and 24 months of age, and the results of investigations at the period of pregnancy, from which this research had been started, and investigations at the first year(period of confinement, 1, 3, 8, 12 months after birth) was wholly analyzed. As total number of variables sums to over 2000(including variables taken repeatedly), correlations among them was primarily examined in order to reduce variables and to see the results briefly.
From the examination of correlations, two brief results below was found, and also some results that had not been hypothesized were found in the detail. These results suggest that new hypotheses should be created. Final report is to be published after those results are examined.
Moreover, it is strongly needed to make a research plan as a next step.
Brief Results
(1) Temperamental features of infant rated by his/her mother effect on her nursing behavior and at the same time, in return, latter changes many aspects of former.
(2) Specific attitude and behavior of mother effect on specific domains of development of infant.
These results suggest that the course of development is not determined by infant's temperament or mother's nursing behavior only, but, rather is, at least, a product of transaction of both of these factors. The results that mother's various nursing styles develop various domains of infant's abilities show "domain-specific development". These individual differences of development suggest "Developmental Relativism", supposing various courses of development depending on various environments.
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