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Abstract

Pairs of unacquainted preschool children and 6 to 8 month old infants were observed individually for 10 minutes in a laboratory playroom as the infants' mother attempted to engage the child in interaction with her baby. There were approximately equal numbers of male and female children in two age groupings-2 to 3 years and 4 to 5 years old. Children stayed closer to the infant} engaged in more toy play with the infant, asked the mother more questions about the infant, and were less resistant to interact with the infant than were children in a previous study in which the mothers did not attempt to facilitate interaction. A larger number of children interacted with infants when mothers were involved rather than uninvolved. ANOVAs for age, sex, and sex composition of the child-infant pair revealed few significant effects suggesting that most preschool children can be encouraged to respond positively to babies after only a brief exposure.

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Young Children's Responses to Unfamiliar Infants: The Effects of Adult Involvement

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