Levels of free-cortisol excreted by second-grade children during two morning hours on regular school days were compared with levels on days that achievement tests were administered. Cortisol excretion was significantly higher on test days than on normal school days but was not related to the children's self-reports of test anxiety. Children who were slightly above average in intelligence and children who were low achievers were found to have elevated cortisol levels. Sixty-eight percent of the variance in free-cortisol excretion was accounted for by the child's popularity with peers, hostility to the teacher, and on-task behaviors. The usefulness of measuring adrenocortisol responses to stress in the classroom was demonstrated.

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Infants aged 12, 18, and 24 months (N = 72) were observed in the presence of their mother and two adult female strangers in order to assess their willingness to initiate proximal interaction with unfamiliar adults. Mothers and strangers were asked to be warmly responsive to infant overtures but not to invite interaction from the infant. A majority of the infants at the three ages initiated proximal interaction with one or both strangers, often repeatedly. For those who engaged in two or more proximal interaction bouts with the strangers, a significant upward trend in bout duration and intensity was noted. Older infants gave more toys to the strangers and initiated more mutual play. Stranger-mother distance affected amount of proximity, not proximal interaction. Motherstranger conversation was associated with less proximal interaction with the conversing stranger. At all ages infants sought more proximal interaction with their mothers than the strangers averaged. Although infants initiated an appreciable amount of proximal interaction with the strangers during the 40-minute observation, comparison with other studies indicates that a stranger who takes the initiative by inviting play can establish more rapport much sooner.

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