1 Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
In the February 1975 issue Kearsley et al.1 make the point that, beginning at about 9 months of age, infants cry when left alone and that this is true regardless of rearing circumstance (day-care vs. home-rearing). We agree with their second interpretation of these resultsthat this response to "isolated" separation represents cognitive growth ("psychological processes").
We are concerned, however, that this phenomenon is alternately referred to as "separation protest" and that it is discussed as bearing on the effects of day-care on the quality of the mother-child relation.