THE ONSET OF WARINESS

Abstract

SCHAFFER, H. RUDOLPH; GREENWOOD, ANNA; and PARRY, MEYER H. The Onset of Wariness. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1972, 43, 165-175. In a short-term longitudinal study 20 infants were followed at monthly intervals from 6 to 12 months of age. Familiarization with an initially strange object was followed by the introduction of an incongruous object on each occasion. At all ages a decrement in visual responsiveness, followed by response recovery to the incongruous stimulus, was found. Simultaneously obtained data on manipulative behavior showed a different age pattern: up to 8 months latency to touch was indiscriminate throughout the series of trials, indicating an immediate-approach tendency irrespective of perceived degree of familiarity, whereas after this age relatively prolonged hesitation to contact the unfamiliar stimulus occurred. The onset of the capacity for such wariness brings about selective approach-avoidance behavior and is considered to reflect the growing influence of the infant's memory store on expressive behavior.