Hypothesizes that infants with attentive mothers will interact more positively with consistent partners than with matched strangers. Finds that when mothers were attentive infant dyads composed of consistent partners interacted more than stranger dyads. Suggest that withdrawal of maternal attention may be equivalent to physical separation by a…

Facial configuration and height were systematically varied as four different strangers--a male and female child, a female adult and a small female adult (midget)--each approached 40 different infants. The infants responded as if there were 3 classes of persons, suggesting that both size and facial configuration cues were used. (Author/SB)

A total of 87 infants 10 months of age received, either directly or indirectly, a positive nonverbal message, a neutral nonverbal message, or no message about a stranger. Infants, especially those with easy temperaments, were friendlier to the stranger when mothers had spoken positively, but only when the message was directly communicated.…

One pathway through which second order effects proceed is "social referencing," a process in which the individual utilizes another's interpretation when appraising a situation. This phenomenon is well identified in adults and older children. While it had not been studied in infancy, there are good indications that the necessary cognitive…

Theories and descriptions of various infant fear behaviors are presented in this paper. Five examples of fear are given: (1) learned fear, in which the infant associates some unpleasant action with an agent, (2) unlearned fear, in which the infant experiences an intense sensory phenomena such as a loud noise, (3) stranger anxiety, (4) fear caused…