ABSTRACT
Before children can talk, and for some period thereafter, we infer how upset they are from their nonverbal behavior. Behaviors have evolved in infants that alert us they are in need: They howl and grimace, their faces redden, their backs arch. When faced with these “cry” behaviors, adults universally infer “distress,” although we are often uncertain about the cause of the crying. In addition, adults appear to have patterns of caregiving in response to infant crying that vary relatively little across widely differing cultures. First we talk to, then touch, and then if this doesn’t work, we often feed the baby (Barr, Bakeman, Konner, & Adamson, 1987). If the meaning of infant cry behaviors are easily recognizable to caregivers, and the responses of caregivers are relatively consistent across cultures, we would seem to understand the relations between crying and distress quite well. What, then, is the need for a “Rosetta Stone”?
