Mother‐infant Dyad: The Cradle of Meaning

The interest of this paper was to explore the early communication network that exists between a mother and her 12‐week‐old infant. Over 50 infants of both sexes from a variety of social classes were seen in their homes. A wide variety of maternal and infant behaviors were studied. Of special interest was the vocalization‐in‐communication data. The results indicate a lawful, consistent, and predictable pattern of communication and suggest that meaning is being established at the very beginning of life.