| Abstract: | The relation between attachment and knowledge of self and mother was assessed in 1-to 2-year-old infants. Infant behavior in the Strange Situation was classified according to three attachment categories: secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant. Infants' featural knowledge was measured by featural recognition, name, possession, and gender. Infants who were securely or resistantly attached had significantly more complex knowledge of mother than self, whereas avoidantly attached infants did not differ in the complexity of knowledge of self and mother. Securely attached infants had more complex self-knowledge than both categories of insecurely attached infants. In contrast, avoidantly attached infants had less complex knowledge of mother than did securely or resistantly attached infants. These data are discussed in the context of how infants' strategies of coping with stress are related to the acquisition of self- and mother-knowledge. |
