ABSTRACT
Research on the origins of individual differences has been greatly advanced by the use of assessment techniques that focus specifically on the newborn, that is, the human infant in its first month of extrauterine life. In their recent review, Francis, Self, and Horowitz (1987) identified over two dozen assessment devices that have relevance to full-term infants in the newborn period. They grouped the instruments they surveyed under one of three headings, namely screening tests, neurological examinations, or behavioral assessments, and used this typology to describe the differential aims and applications of techniques employed with the neonate. Thus, the Apgar (1953) rating, the Prechtl (1977) scale, or the Graham (1956) test may be seen as addressing the distinct yet overlapping concerns of the physician, the neurologist, or the psychologist, respectively. Although derived from the intended purpose behind their administration, such a classification system is nevertheless somewhat arbitrary, insofar as each of these approaches rely on newborn behavior to determine viability, maturity, or individuality (Francis et al., 1987). An emphasis on behavior, however, reflects a recent perspective, as the earliest devices were rooted in pediatric neurology with the shift toward developmental psychology occurring relatively later.
