Open AccessINFANTS' SOCIAL RESPONSES TO SOCIAL EVENTS
Author(s) -
Brooks Jeanne,
Lewis Michael
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
ets research bulletin series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2333-8504
pISSN - 0424-6144
DOI - 10.1002/j.2333-8504.1975.tb01041.x
Subject(s) - developmental psychology , psychology
Infants respond differentially, and at times with fear‐like behavior, to unfamiliar persons. This study was designed to see how infants discriminate among strangers. Since it has been shown that infants respond differently to children and adults, the physical characteristics of persons used to make such differentiations were of interest. Facial configuration and height were systematically varied as five different strangers–a male and a female child, a male and a female adult, and a small adult female the same height as the children (midget)–each approached 40 different infants. The infants responded as if there were three classes of persons–adults, children, and small adults. Infants as young as seven months of age reacted to the size‐facial configuration discrepancy of the small adult condition.