PPT Slide
Analyses suggested that the infants could be clustered into two groups: infants who were relatively more demanding compared with infants who were relatively more rewarding. Excessive crying (total crying and fussing for 3 or more hours in a 24-hour period) did not differentiate between the two groups. Rather, the more demanding babies had high cry-to-fuss ratios and parents frequently described these babies as having colic/gas pains or fits of frantic crying, suggesting that parents had difficulty soothing their babies (Maldonado-Duran & Sauceda-Garcia, 1996; St. James-Roberts, 1998). These babies were also more likely to have difficult ratings on the temperament scale. Babies who were more rewarding were likely to have easy temperaments and had low cry-to-fuss ratios. Parents of rewarding babies also commented frequently on playful behaviors, smiling, and positive mood.
Parents of the more rewarding babies had high beliefs in intentionality based on both parental interviews and questionnaire data. They were also more likely to comment that their babies had positive intentions rather than negative intentions, and to make positive attributions rather than negative attributions. In contrast, parents of demanding babies had lower beliefs in the intentionality of their babies' behavior and they were less likely to make attributions (either positive or negative) than parents of rewarding babies.