Infants may demonstrate stranger anxiety through various behaviors, such as crying, turning their body away from an unfamiliar person, clinging tightly to a caregiver, or attempting to reach for a familiar face like a parent.

Examples of Stranger Anxiety

An 8-month-old infant is contentedly playing with their mother. When a family friend they have never met before enters the room, the infant cries, hides their face, and clings to their mother. Which developmental phenomenon does this scenario best illustrate?

According to Piaget's theory, stranger anxiety is a fear response that results from a child's inability to assimilate an unfamiliar person into an existing schema. This failure to categorize the stranger makes their behavior unpredictable to the child.

Cause of Stranger Anxiety (Piaget's View)

According to Piaget, stranger anxiety is a fear of unfamiliar people that typically emerges in infants around the same time they develop object permanence.

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New Mexico Highlands University

Issues in the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development include:

- Object permanence
- Stranger anxiety

Issues in Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Object permanence is the cognitive understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not in sight. According to Piaget, this key cognitive milestone is typically grasped by around 8 months of age. Before developing this concept, infants behave as if an object that is hidden from view has ceased to exist. Once toddlers (12-24 months old) master object permanence, they demonstrate this understanding through behaviors such as enjoying games like hide-and-seek and realizing that a person who leaves a room will return.

Object Permanence

Stranger Anxiety

Based on the following observation, what specific cognitive milestone has this infant likely achieved? Explain your reasoning by connecting the infant's actions to the definition of this milestone.

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