THE EFFECTS OF A FAMILIAR TOY AND MOTHER'S PRESENCE ON EXPLORATORY AND ATTACHMENT BEHAVIORS IN YOUNG CHILDREN

Abstract

The study was designed to investigate the exploration and attachment behavior of young children in a strange situation in the presence of: (1) an individual to whom the child was attached (the mother); (2) an inanimate object with which the child was highly familiar (favorite toy) ; and (3) a novel inanimate object (an unfamiliar toy). The effect of age was also investigated. Thirty-six male children from nursery schools in the Syracuse, New York area were subjects. They ranged in age from 15-42 months. The experimental session consisted of four parts: (1) instructional (mother and child shown room and toys) ; (2) baseline (mother and child alone in room for four minutes) ; (3) intermission (child coaxed or taken out of the room) and (4) test (child returns to room and finds either his mother, the familiar toy, or the unfamiliar toy. Data was compiled during baseline and test phase in two categories of dependent variables: (1) exploratory behaviors; and (2) attachment behaviors. Hypotheses and subsequent discussion of results are extensively presented. [Not available in hard copy due to marginal legibility of original document.] (TL)