The role of vision in maternal attachment: Giving 2-year-olds a photograph of their mother during separation

After being separated from their mothers, 48 Ss (20-30 mo old) were given either an unrecognizable or a sharply focused photograph of their mother to carry with them in an unfamiliar playroom. A female escort either correctly identified the photograph for the Ss, mislabeled it as a picture of a stra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 1982-07, Vol.18 (4), p.530-533
Main Authors: Passman, Richard H, Longeway, Kathleen P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Human
Mother Absence
Visual Perception
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Summary:After being separated from their mothers, 48 Ss (20-30 mo old) were given either an unrecognizable or a sharply focused photograph of their mother to carry with them in an unfamiliar playroom. A female escort either correctly identified the photograph for the Ss, mislabeled it as a picture of a stranger, or gave it no verbal label. Ss with a clear photograph played, explored, and remained in the playroom longer than those presented with a blurred image. They also held, looked at, and spontaneously named the picture more. The verbal labels exerted no effects on separation behaviors or on responses directed toward the photographs. Results indicate that visual perception alone can suffice to provide Ss as young as 20 mo with some of the functional properties of their mother. (71 ref)
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/0012-1649.18.4.530