The lateral cradling biases of Black and White women were examined by surveying photographs of women holding infants. The photographs were taken from a number of Black- and White-orientated popular periodicals. A systematic leftward bias in cradling was found in both Black and White women, suggesting that left-sided cradling is a universal maternal behaviour. The results were discussed in terms of their significance for a biogenetic model of the lateral cradling bias.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BoltonR.Child-holding patterns. Current Anthropology, 1978, 19, 134–135.
2.
BrüserE.Child transport in Sri Lanka. Current Anthropology, 1981, 22, 288–290.
3.
de ChateauP.HolmbergH.WinburgJ.Left-side preference in holding and carrying newborn infants. I. Mothers holding and carrying during the first week of life. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavia, 1978, 67, 169–175.
4.
GinsburgH.J.FlingS.HopeM.L.MusgroveD.AndrewsC.Maternal holding preferences: a consequence of newborn head-turning response. Child Development, 1979, 50, 280–281.
5.
LockhardJ.S.DaleyP.C.GundersonV.M.Maternal and paternal differences in infant carry: US and African data. American Naturalist, 1979, 113, 235–246.
6.
MeadM.MacgregorF.C.Growth and culture. New York: Putnam, 1951.
SalingM.M.The significance of lateral compatibility for the early mother-infant relationship. South African Journal of Psychology, 1978, 8, 35–42.
9.
SalingM.M.TysonG.A.Lateral cradling preferences in mulliparous females. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1981, 139, 309–310.
10.
SalkL.The critical nature of the post-partum period in the human for the establishment of the mother-infant bond: a controlled study. Nervous System, 1970, 31, 110–115.
11.
SalkL.The role of the heartbeat of the relations between mother and infant. Scientific American, 1973, 228, 24–29.
12.
Scarr-SalapatekS.Genetic determinants of infant development: an overstated case. In LipsittL.P. (Ed.), Developmental psychobiology: the significance of infancy. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1976.