Cardiac and behavioral reactions to strangers were measured in 5-, and 9-month-olds. Results indicate that: (1) behavioral differences between 5- and 9-month-olds are reflected in heart rate differences, (2) there are differences in heart rate but not behaviors when mothers are absent, and (3) heart rate response is linked to affective expression.…

This study attempted to distinguish between the ambivalent response of shyness and the more potent negative affect of fear in infancy. Sixty infants between 9 and 12 months of age participated in two laboratory situations: a nonsocial situation involving the presentation of a mechanical toy; and a social situation involving a standardized stranger…

A model of infant social behavior is developed which incorporates attachment to the familiar and fear of strangers as well as detachment from the familiar and exploration of the stranger. (JMB)

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…

This study explored questions concerning the specificity of facial expression of emotions in infants. A sample of 27 infants (nine each at ages 10, 11, and 12 months) were tested in six experimental and six control conditions. Two of the experimental conditions were designed to elicit fear, two happiness, and two surprise. Videotapes of the…

This study investigated infant crying as a form of communication, with fear considered only one of many possible motivating emotions. Crying, along with fretting and withdrawal, are the major ways infants have to indicate that they desire to change the present situation. Subjects were 91 white, middle class infants whose mothers wete their primary…

The development of two temperamental characteristics--the tendency to approach (uninhibited) and the tendency to avoid (inhibited) unfamiliar events--may be partially controlled by genetic predisposition. Discusses the results of a study indicating that the level of motor responses and crying in response to unfamiliar stimuli in four month olds…

This paper presents two studies of the development of social competencies in infancy. In the first experiment, the central issue investigated was whether facial configuration or height is utilized by infants to respond differentially to children and adults. Five different strangers, a male and a female child, a male and a female adult, and a small…