DISTINCTION BETWEEN FEAR AND WARINESS

The mechanisms that mediate avoidant reactions in children were investigated. Babies (40) repeatedly were observed throughout their 2nd yr in a variety of mildly challenging situations, and then again in a series of follow-up assessments at age 3 1/2. Analysis of the covariance patterns among the repeated measurements supports positing 2 distinct types of avoidant mechanisms: an inclination to be wary of the unfamiliar and a proclivity to be fearful after exposure to a mildly difficult situation. Each type of phenomena constituted an independent source of individual differences. Behaviors that differed as a result of prior experience proved fairly predictive of future social orientations; variations in initial wariness did not.