Stranger Anxiety

Definition

Stranger anxiety is a form of distress that children experience when exposed to people unfamiliar to them.

Analogy

Stranger anxiety is like seeing an unknown number calling your phone - there's uncertainty about who it could be and what they want, causing unease or anxiety.

Related terms

Social Development: The process by which individuals learn to interact with others and understand and control their own feelings and behaviors.

Temperament: An individual's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity, often seen as an inherent aspect of a child's nature.

Sensitive Period: A time during an organism's development when it is more responsive to certain stimuli and quicker to learn particular skills. For example, there is a sensitive period for language acquisition in early childhood.