STATE AS AN INFANT‐ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: AN ANALYSIS OF MOTHER‐INFANT BEHAVIOR AS A FUNCTION OF SEX1

Abstract

After a review of the literature it was proposed that state be defined in terms of an infant‐environment interaction. In order to investigate state differences as well as individual differences in state, it was necessary to explore and discuss various types of interactive processes and analyses. Having accomplished this task, empirical data were presented which seemed to support the proposed model of state, namely that infant condition (behavior) alone was insufficient to describe state since often the same condition had widely different consequences which in turn should affect future conditions. The data also revealed individual differences as a function of the sex of the infant. Briefly, girls received more distal responses to the same behavior for which boys received proximal responses. This was discussed as an important source of individual variance and its effect on subsequent cognitive functioning.