THE RELATION BETWEEN INFANTS SELF MOTHER KNOWLEDGE AND 3 ATTACHMENT CATEGORIES

The relation between attachment and knowledge of self and mother was a ssessed in 1- to 2-year-old infants. Infant behavior in the Strange Si tuation was classified according to three attachment categories: secur e, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant. Infants' featural knowle dge 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 attache d infants did not differ in the complexity of knowledge of self and mo ther. Securely attached infants had more complex self-knowledge than b oth categories of insecurely attached infants. In contrast, avoidantly attached infants had less complex knowledge of mother than did secure ly or resistantly attached infants. These data are discussed in the co ntext of how infants' strategies of coping with stress are related to the acquisition of self- and mother-knowledge.