stranger anxiety

Stranger anxiety is a form of fear experienced by infants when encountering unfamiliar people or situations. This emotion typically emerges between four and six months of age and is linked to an infant's developing memory. As infants begin to recall past events, they can experience anxiety when a familiar caregiver is absent or when approached by someone unknown.1

This anxiety is closely related to separation anxiety, which occurs when a young child becomes distressed due to separation from a primary caregiver or familiar surroundings. The development of these anxieties is dependent on an infant's improving ability to remember events.21