Infants experiences are often thought to influence social and intellectual
development in the individual, and on a societal level they are sometimes credited
for some of the distinctiveness that typifies cultural style. To compare and
contrast the experiences of French and U.S. American infants, mother-infant dyads in
Paris and in New York City were observed interacting in the natural setting of their
homes. This report focuses on infants' visual attention, tactual exploration, and
vocalisation and on mothers' mediated and unmediated stimulation and speech to
infants. The study had two main goals: One was to identify and describe activities
and interaction patterns that may be similar and different in these two Western
cultures, and the other was to test the cross-cultural validity of a hypothesis that
states that specific mother and infant activities relate to one another in dyadic
interaction. Mothers and infants in the two cultures showed some similarities and
some different emphases in their activities, and patterns of mother-infant
interaction in the two cultures tended to correspond.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ainsworth, M. D. S.
(1967). Infancy in Uganda: Infant care and the growth of
love.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press
.
2.
Ajuriaguerra, J., de, Harrisson, A., & Ldzine, I. (1967). Quelques
aspects de la reactivit6 6motionnelle dans la premiere annde. Psychiatrie de
l'Enfant, 10, 293-380.
3.
Barnouw, V.
(1963). Culture and personality.
Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press
.
4.
Bateson, G.
&
Mead, M.
(1942). Balinese character: A photographic analysis.
New York Academy of Sciences
.
5.
Belsky, J.
,
Gilstrap, B.
, &
Rovine, M.
(1984).
The Pennsylvania infant and family development project, I: Stability and
change in mother-infant and father-infant interaction in a family setting at
one, three, and nine months
. Child Development, 55,
692-705
.
6.
Benedict, R.
(1938).
Continuities and discontinuities in cultural conditioning
. Psychiatry, 1,
161-167
.
7.
Benedict, R.
(1974). The chrysanthemum and the sword: Patterns of Japanese
culture.
New York: Houghton Mifflin
.
8.
Bertrand, M.
(ed.) (1986). Popular traditions and learned culture in
France, 17th-20th centuries.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press
.
9.
Bloch, H. (1983). La poursuite visuelle chez le nouveau-ne a terme et chez le
premature. Enfance, 1-2, 19-30.
10.
Bornstein, M. H.
(1980). Cross-cultural developmental psychology.
In
M. H. Bornstein
(Ed.), Comparative methods in psychology.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, pp. 231-281.
11.
Bornstein, M. H.
(1985).
How infant and mother jointly contribute to developing cognitive competence
in the child
. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
82,
7470-7473
.
12.
Bornstein, M. H.
(1989a).
Cross-cultural developmental comparisons: The case of Japanese-American
infant and mother activities and interactions. What we know, what we need to
know, and why we need to know
. Developmental Review, 9,
171-204
.
13.
Bornstein, M. H.
(1989b). Between caretakers and their young: Two modes of
interaction and their consequences for cognitive growth. In
M. H. Bornstein
&
J. S. Bruner
(Eds), Interaction in human development.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, pp. 197-214.
14.
Bornstein, M. H.
(1989c). Stability in early mental development: From
attention and information processing in infancy to language and cognition in
childhood. In
M. H. Bornstein
&
N. A. Krasnegor
(Eds), Stability and continuity in mental development: Behavioral and
biological perspectives.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, pp. 147-170.
15.
Bornstein, M. H.
&
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S.
(1990).
Activities and interactions of mothers and their first born infants in the
first six months of life: Covariation, stability, continuity,
correspondence, and prediction
. Child Development, 61,
1206-1217
.
16.
Bornstein, M. H.
,
Gaughran, J.
, &
Homel, P.
(1986). Infant temperament: Theory, tradition, critique,
and new assessments. In
C. E. Izard
&
P. B. Read
(Eds), Measuring emotions in infants and children, Vol. 2.
Cambridge University Press
, pp. 172-199.
17.
Bornstein, M. H.
,
Azuma, H.
,
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S.
, &
Ogino, M.
(1990).
Mother and infant activity and interaction in Japan and in the United
States: I. A comparative macroanalysis of naturalistic exchanges
. International Journal of Behavioral Development,
13,
267-287
.
18.
Brazelton, T. B.
(1973). Neonatal behavioral assessment scale.
Philadelphia: Lippincott
.
19.
Bresson, F. & de Schonen, S. (1976-1977). A propos de la construction
de l'espace et de l'objet: La prise d'un objet sur un support. Bulletin de
Psychologie, 30, 150-158.
20.
Brinton, C. C.
(1968). The Americans and the French.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
21.
Brislin, R. W.
(1983).
Cross-cultural research in psychology
. Annual Review of Psychology, 34,
363-400
.
22.
Brody, S.
(1956). Patterns of mothering: Maternal influence during
infancy.
New York: International Universities Press
.
23.
Brown, R.
(1977). Introduction. In
C. Snow
&
C. Ferguson
(Eds), Talking to children.
Cambridge University Press
, pp. 1-27.
24.
Bruner, J.
(1989).
Culture and human development: A new look
. Invited address to the Annual Meeting to the Society for
Research in Child Development, Kansas City, Missouri.
25.
Bullinger, A. (1977). Quelques aspects cognitifs de l'oculomotricit6 chez le
nourrisson. Revue Suisse de Psychologie, 36, 137-138.
26.
Campos, J. J.
,
Barrett, K. C.
,
Lamb, M. E.
,
Goldsmith, H. H.
, &
Stenberg, C.
(1983). Socioemotional development. In
P. H. Mussen
(Ed.), Handbook of child psychology, Vol. 2.
New York: Wiley
, pp. 783-915.
27.
Casati, I. (1987). Premices du baiser chez le nourrisson au cours de la
premiere annee. Psychiatrie de l'enfant, 30, 84-85.
28.
Caudill, W. A.
&
Weinstein, H.
(1969).
Maternal care and infant behavior in Japan and America
. Psychiatry, 32,
12-43
.
29.
Chen, S.-J.
&
Miyake, K.
(1984). Japanese vs. United States comparison of
mother-infant interaction and infant development: A review. Annual
Report of the Research and Clinical Center for Child Development,
13-26.
Sapporo, Japan: University of Hokkaido Press
.
30.
Clarke, E. V.
(1985). The acquisition of Romance, with special reference
to French. In
D. I. Slobin
(Ed.), The crosslinguistic study of language acquisition: The
data, Vol. 1.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, pp. 686-782.
31.
Cohen, J.
(1977). Power analysis for the behavioral sciences.
New York: Academic Press
.
32.
Cohn, J. F.
&
Tronick, E. Z.
(1987).
Mother-infant face-to-face interaction: The sequence of dyadic states at 3,
6 and 9 months
. Developmental Psychology, 23,
68-77
.
33.
Cosnier, J. (1984). Observation directe des interactions prdcoces ou les
bases de l'dpigenese interactionnelle. Psychiatrie de l'Enfant, 28, 107-126.
34.
Darnton, R.
(1984). Peasants tell tales: The meaning of Mother
Goose. In The great cat massacre.
New York: Vintage
, pp. 9-72.
35.
DeVries, M. W.
&
Sameroff, A. J.
(1984).
Culture and temperament: Influences on infant temperament in three East
African societies
. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 54,
83-96
.
36.
Dion, F. & Pcheux, M.-G. (1989). Parental beliefs about cognitive
development and their role in this development. Unpublished manuscript.
37.
Doi, T.
(1973). The anatomy of dependence. (J. Bester, trans.).
Tokyo: Kodansha International
.
38.
Dolto, F.
(1955). French and American children as seen by a French
analyst. In
M. Mead
&
M. Wolfenstein
(Eds), Childhood in contemporary cultures.
University of Chicago Press
, pp. 408-423.
39.
Dolto, F. (1979). Lorsque l'enfant parait. Paris: Seuil.
40.
Emde, R. N.
,
Gaensbauer, T. J.
, &
Harmon, R. J.
(1976). Emotional expression in infancy: A biobehavioral
study. Psychological Issues X (Monograph 37).
New York: International Universities Press
.
41.
Fivaz, E. & Cornut-Zimmer, B. (1983). Etude exploratoire du
developpement precoce de l'attention focale partagee dans le systeme mere
nourrisson. Neuropsychiatrie de l'Enfant, 30, 95-101.
42.
Flament, F. (1982). Du systeme d'interactions sociales entre jeunes enfants:
Dynamique et signification. Bulletin d'Audiophonologie, 2-3, 277-298.
43.
Goldfield, B.
(1987).
The contributions of child and caregiver to referential and expressive language
. Applied Psycholinguists, 8,
267-280
.
44.
Gottfried, A. W.
(1985).
Measures of socioeconomic status in child development research: Data and recommendations
. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 31,
85-92
.
45.
Gramont, S. E.
(1969). French, portrait of a people.
New York: Putnam
.
46.
Hill, R.
&
Konig, R.
(1970). Families in East and West: Socialization process and
kinship ties.
The Hague: Mouton
.
47.
Hoff-Ginsberg, E.
&
Shatz, M.
(1982).
Linguistic input and the child's acquisition of language
. Psychological Bulletin, 92,
3-26
.
48.
Hoffman, S.
(1963). In search of France.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
.
49.
Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). The four-factor index of social status.
Unpublished manuscript, Yale University.
50.
Howorth, J.
&
Ross, G.
(Eds) (1987). Contemporary France: A review of
interdisciplinary studies.
New York: Columbia University Press
.
51.
Hunt, J. Mc.V.
(1979).
Psychological development: Early experience
. Annual Review of Psychology, 30,
103-143
.
52.
Jahoda, G.
(1980). Cross-cultural comparisons. In
M. H. Bornstein
(Ed.), Comparative methods in psychology.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, pp. 105-148.
53.
Josse, D.
&
Robin, M.
(1986).
Some aspects of mother-child relationships following the birth of twins
. Early Child Development and Care, 26,
1-18
.
54.
Kaplan, H.
&
Dove, H.
(1987).
Infant development among the Ache of Eastern Paraguay
. Developmental Psychology, 23,
190-198
.
55.
Kardiner, A.
(1939). The individual and his society.
New York: Columbia University Press
.
56.
Kaye, K.
&
Fogel, A.
(1980).
The temporal structure of face-to-face communication between mothers and infants
. Developmental Psychology, 16,
454-464
.
57.
Kennedy, S.
,
Scheirer, J.
, &
Rogers, A.
(1984).
The price of success: our monocultural science
. American Psychologist, 39,
996-997
.
58.
Kessen, W.
(1983). The child and other cultural inventions.
In
F. S. Kessel
&
A. W. Siegel
(Eds), The child and other cultural inventions.
New York: Praeger
, pp. 26-39.
59.
Konner, M. J.
(1977). Infancy among the Kalahari Desert San. In
P. H. Leiderman
,
S. R. Tulkin
, &
A. Rosenfeld
(Eds), Culture and infancy: Variations in the human experience.
New York: Academic Press
, pp. 287-328.
60.
Konner, M. J.
(1981). Evolution of human behavior development.
In
R. H. Munroe
,
R. L. Monroe
, &
B. B. Whiting
(Eds), Handbook of cross-cultural human development.
New York: Garland
, pp. 3-52.
61.
Lamb, M. E.
&
Bornstein, M. H.
(1987). Development in infancy: An introduction.
New York: Random House
.
62.
Lebovici, S., Mazet, P., & Visier, J. P. (1989). L'9valuation des
interactions precoces entre le bebd et ses partenaires. Paris: Editions ESHEL.
63.
Ldcuyer, R. (1989). B&b6s astronomes, bebes psychologues:
L'intelligence de la premiere annde. Liege: Mardaga.
64.
Lucuyer, R. & Pêchaux, M.-G. (1983). D6veloppement cognitif
et interaction sociale: La conquete du pouvoir par le nourrisson. Recherches en
Psychologie Sociale, 5, 107-124.
65.
Lerner, R. M.
(1989). Developmental contextualism and the life-span view
of personcontext interaction. In
M. H. Bornstein
&
J. S. Bruner
(Eds), Interaction in human development.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, pp. 217-239.
66.
Lerner, R. M.
&
Lerner, J. V.
(1983). Temperament-intelligence reciprocities in early
childhood: A contextual model. In
M. Lewis
(Ed.), Origins of intelligence.
New York: Plenum
, pp. 399-421.
67.
Lewis, M.
&
Ban, P.
(1977). Variance and invariance in the mother-infant
interaction: A cross-cultural study. In
P. H. Leiderman
,
S. R. Tulkin
, &
A. Rosenfeld
(Eds), Culture and infancy: Variations in the human experience.
New York: Academic Press
, pp. 329-356.
68.
Ldzine, I. (1974). Propos sur le jeune enfant. Paris: Mame.
69.
Maranda, P.
(1974). French kinship structure in history.
London: Mouton
.
70.
Marcos, H.
(1987).
Communicative functions of pitch range and pitch direction in infants
. Journal of Child Language, 14,
255-268
.
71.
McKay, D. C.
(1983). The United States and France.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press
.
72.
Mead, M.
(1935). Sex and temperament in three primitive
societies.
New York: Morrow
.
73.
Metraux, R.
&
Mead, M.
(1954). Themes in French culture: A preface to a study of
French community.
Standford, CA: Standford University Press
.
74.
Miller, N. E.
&
Dollard, J.
(1941). Social learning and imitation.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
.
75.
Minturn, L.
&
Lambert, W.
(1964). Mothers of six cultures.
New York: Wiley
.
76.
Moghaddam, F. M.
(1987).
Psychology in three worlds
. American Psychologist, 42,
912-920
.
77.
Mounoud, P.
&
Hauert, C-A.
(1982). Sensorimotor and postural behaviors: Their
relation to cognitive development. In
W. Hartup
,
I. M. Ahammer
, &
H. L. Pick
(Eds), Review of child development research, Vol. 6.
University of Chicago Press
, pp. 101-132.
78.
Murray, H. A.
(1938). Explorations in personality.
Oxford University Press
.
79.
Naroll, R.
(1970).
What have we learned from cross-cultural surveys?American Anthropologist, 72,
1227-1288
.
80.
Papougek, M.
,
Papougek, H.
, &
Bornstein, M. H.
(1985). The naturalistic vocal environment of young
infants: On the significance of homogeneity and variability in parental
speech. In
T. M. Field
&
N. Fox
(Eds), Social perception in infants.
Norwood, N.J.; Ablex
, pp. 269-297.
81.
Patois, E., Roy, M.-P., Semp6, M., & Lellouch, J. (1974). Age de la
marche et facteurs associes dtudi6s dans un echantillon longitudinal de 296 enfants
Parisiens. Archives Franfaises de Pediatrie, 31, 875-886.
82.
Pecheux, M.-G.
&
Ldcuyer, R.
(1983).
Habituation rate and free exploration tempo in 4-month-old infants
. International Journal of Behavioral Development,
6,
37-51
.
83.
Penman, R.
,
Cross, T.
,
Milgrom-Friedman, J.
, &
Meares, R.
(1983).
Mothers' speech to prelingual infants: A pragmatic analysis
. Journal of Child Language, 10,
17-34
.
84.
Piaget, J. (1936). La naissance de lintelligence chez lenfant.
Paris: Delachaux & Niestl.
85.
Pifiol-Douriez, M. (1984). B6b9 agi-bebeg actif. Paris: Presses
Universitaires de France.
86.
Plomin, R.
(1986). Development, genetics, and psychology.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
87.
Richardson, G.
&
Marx, E.
(1989). A welcome for every child. How France achieves
quality in child care: Practical ideas for the United States. The
Report of the Child Care Study Panel of the French-American Foundation.
New York: The French-American Foundation
.
88.
Robin, M.
(1980).
Interaction process analysis of mothers with their newborn infants
. Early Child Development and Care, 6,
93-108
.
89.
Robin, M.
(1982).
Neonate-mother interaction: Tactile contacts in the days following birth
. Early Child Development and Care, 9,
221-236
.
90.
Robin, M.
&
Josse, D.
(1984).
Maternal language and the development of successive infant identities
. Early Child Development and Care, 17,
167-176
.
91.
Sabatier, C.
(1986).
La mere et son bdb6: Variations culturelles analyse critique de la litterature
. International Journal of Psychology, 21,
4-5
.
92.
Seitz, V.
(1988). Methodology. In
M. H. Bornstein
&
M. E. Lamb
(Eds), Developmental psychology: An advanced textbook.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
, pp. 37-79.
93.
Sigman, M.
,
Neumann, C.
,
Carter. E.
,
Cattle, D. J.
,
D'Souza, S.
, &
Bwibo, N.
(1988).
Home interactions and the development of Embu toddlers in Kenya
. Child Development, 59,
1251-1261
.
94.
Sinclair, H., Stambak, M., & Ldzine, I. (1982). Les bebgs et les
choses. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
95.
Snow, C. E.
&
Ferguson, C. A.
(Eds) (1977). Talking to children: Language input and
acquisition.
Cambridge University Press
.
96.
Spindler, G. C.
(Ed.). (1974). Education and cultural process.
New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
.
97.
Stern, D.
(1985). The interpersonal world of the infant.
New York: Basic Books
.
98.
Super, C. M.
(1976).
Environmental effects on motor development: The case of "African infant precocity"
. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 18,
561-567
.
99.
Super, C. M.
(1981). Behavioral development in infancy. In
R. H. Munroe
,
R. L. Munroe
, &
B. B. Whiting
(Eds), Handbook of cross-cultural human development.
New York: Garland STPM Press
, pp. 181-270.
100.
Super, C. M.
&
Harkness, S.
(1981). Figure, ground and gestalt: The cultural context
of the active individual. In
R. M. Lerner
&
H. A. Busch-Rossnagel
(Eds), Individuals as producers of their own development.
New York: Academic Press
, pp. 69-86.
101.
Super, C. M.
&
Harkness, S.
(1986).
The development niche: A conceptualization at the interface of child and culture
. International Journal of Behavioral Development,
9,
545-569
.
102.
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S.
&
Bornstein, M. H.
(1989).
Habituation and maternal encouragement of attention in infancy as
predictors of toddler language, play, and representational competence
. Child Development, 60,
738-751
.
103.
Triandis, H.
(1980). Handbook of cross-cultural psychology.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon
.
104.
Tukey, J. W.
(1977). Exploratory data analysis.
Menlo-Park, CA: Addison-Wesley
.
105.
Tulkin, S. R.
(1977). Dimensions of multicultural research in infancy
and early childhood. In
P. H. Leiderman
,
S. R. Tulkin
, &
A. Rosenfeld
(Eds), Culture and infancy: Variations in the human experience.
New York: Academic Press
, pp. 567-586.
106.
Vibbert, M.
&
Bornstein, M. H.
(1989).
Specific associations between domains of motherchild interaction and
toddler referential language and pretense play
. Infant Behavior and Development, 12,
163-184
.
107.
Voneche, J. J.
(1987). The difficulty of being a child in French-speaking
countries. In
J. M. Broughton
(Ed.), Critical theories of psychological development.
New York: Plenum
, pp. 61-86.
108.
Vyt, A.
(1989).
The second year as a developmental turning point: Implications for
sensitive caretaking
. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 4,
145-158
.
109.
Wachs, T. D.
(1987).
Short-term stability of aggregated and nonaggregated measures of parental behavior
. Child Development, 58,
796-797
.
110.
Wachs, T. A.
&
Chan, A.
(1986).
Specificity of environmental action, as seen in environmental correlates of
infants' communication performance
. Child Development, 57,
1464-1474
.
111.
Wachs, T. D.
&
Gruen, G.
(1982). Early experience and human development.
New York: Plenum
.
112.
Wallace, A. F. C.
(1961). Culture and personality.
New York: Random House
.
113.
Wallon, H. (1942). De l'acte a la pensge. Paris: Flammarion.
114.
Wallon, H. (1947). L'c6volution psychologique de l'enfant. Paris: A. Colin.
115.
Whiting. B.
(1963). Six cultures: Studies of child-rearing.
New York: Wiley
.
116.
Whiting, J. W.
(1981). Environmental constraints on infant care
practices. In
R. H. Munroe
,
R. L. Munroe
, &
B. N. Whiting
(Eds), Handbook of cross-cultural human development.
New York: Garland STPM Press
, pp. 155-179.
117.
Whiting, J. W. M.
&
Child, I. L.
(1953). Child training and personality: A cross-cultural
study.
New Haven: Yale University Press
.
118.
Widmer, C. (1980). Les modes de communication du bebe: Postures,
mouvements et vocalises. Paris: Delachaux & Niestld.
119.
Wolfenstein, M.
(1955). French parents take their children to the
park. In
M. Mead
&
M. Wolfenstein
(Eds), Childhood in contemporary cultures.
University of Chicago Press
, pp. 99-117.
120.
Wolff, P. H.
(1984). Discontinuous changes in human wakefulness around
the end of the second month of life: A developmental perspective. In
H. F. R. Prechtl
(Ed.), Continuity of neural functions from prenatal to postnatal
life.
Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott
, pp. 144-158.
121.
Zeldin, T.
(1983). The French.
New York: Vintage Books
.
