INFANT ATTRACTIVENESS PREDICTS MATERNAL BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES

The relations between infant attractiveness and maternal behavior were examined by observing mothers feeding and playing with their firstborn infants while they were still in the hospital after giving birth (N = 144) and again when the infants were 3 months of age (N = 115). The attitudes of the mothers toward their infants were also assessed. Mothers of more attractive infants were more affectionate and playful compared with mothers of less attractive infants. In contrast, the mothers of less attractive infants were more likely to be attentive to other people rather than to their infant and to engage in routine caregiving rather than affectionate behavior. The attitudes of the mothers of less attractive infants were also more negative than those of mothers of more attractive infants, but the number of differences in attitudes was not as great as the behavioral differences.