Attachment behavior in thirteen-month-old, opposite-sex twins.

Seventeen sets of opposite sex twins, 13 to 14 months old, were observed in a playroom situation with their mothers. Attachment behaviors, toy preference, style of play, and activity level were recorded. Analysis of four attachment behaviors indicated that girls looked at, vocalized to, and maintained proximity with their mothers significantly more often than did their brothers. Girls also touched their mothers more often, although this difference was not significant. The style of play and activity level measures revealed no sex c;ifferences. In terms of specific toy preferences, girls tended to play with the cat and dog more, while boys tended to play more with the pull toy. No other differences in toy preference were found. The effects of social class, activity level, and separation from the mother ox.1./ on infant attachment behavior are discussed. The importance of the mother as a socializing and sex-typing agent is stressed. FILMED FROM BEST AVAILABLE COPY Attachment Behavior in Thirteen-Month-Old, Opposite Sex Twins Jeanne Brooks and Michael Lewis' Educational Testing Service Whether sex differences are to be found in infant behaviors is a question that has received a great deal of attention. Since the attachment bond between infant and caregiver is a consequence of the infant's first significant social interaction, differences in infant and maternal behaviors, which are a function of the sex of the infant, may provide the foundation forlater. sex-appropriate socialization patterns. Attachment, or the effectual bond between the infant and its primary caregiver, usually mother, is typically measured by a variety of behaviorE: categorized as proximal or distal (Lewis & Ban, 1971). Proximal behaviors, such as touching, ranking, and ainging, involve physical contact. Looking, smiling, and vocalizing, which are distal behaviors, are also important in the formation of attachment bonds (Ainsworth, 1963; Bowlby, 1969; Goldberg & Lewis, 1969; Walters & Parke, 1965). The specific focus of the present study is on infant attachment behaviors (both proximal and distal) exhibited toward the mother by the year-old infant. The playroom situation devised by Lewis has yielded the most consistent infant sex differences. Three studies, using the.playroom setting, have been reported: (1) Goldberg and Lewis (1969) observed 64 middle class infants, approximately 1 year-old, and their mothers; (2 Messer and Lewis (1972) observed 33 one year-old lower class infants and their mothers; and, (3) Lewis, Weinraub and Ban (1972) observed 20 one year-old, upper middle class infants with both their mothers and fathers. In all three studies, the child was placed in a toy-filled room with one parent for fifteen minutes. Observers behind one-