Young children's trust in their mother's claims: longitudinal links with attachment security in infancy.

In a longitudinal study of attachment, children (N = 147) aged 50 and 61 months heard their mother and a stranger make conflicting claims. In 2 tasks, the available perceptual cues were equally consistent with either person's claim but children generally accepted the mother's claims over those of the stranger. In a 3rd task, the perceptual cues favored the stranger's claims, and children generally accepted her claims over those of the mother.