Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-04-17
Child in an Icebox

"A test OF ZOl children between
and 5 years Of age, designed to study
The reaction Of a youngster trapped in
1 refrigerator, has produced findings
which do not make pleasant reading
Here are some of the conclusions in the
words OF the investigators:
The patterns of children's reactions
to sudden. unexpected confinement range
all the way from complete passivity, with
no attempts to use either physical or mem
tai resources. TO violent activity, either
purposeful or undirected few children
sat quietly for as long as Is minutes,
seemingly waiting for the movie (which
mad been shown to lure them into the
simulated icebox) to reappear They gave
no evidence Of being perturbed either dur
ing or after their stay in the enclosure.
Others. also few in number, became pam
icky and emotionally upset the moment
they found themselves shut in, and by
their agitation probably hampered what
ability TO get out they might otherwise
have shown. The great majority OF the
children could not be said to be unduly
upset by the experience
Most OF the children called out, cried.
or screamed at some time while entrapped.
AS might be expected. older children were
less apt to cry though they called out as
often as younger ones
few children cried all the time they
were enclosed. and made no physical effort
to get out; others cried continuously but
made physical efforts at the same time.
Despite efforts to give the children the
impression that they would be alone when
the door closed on them, their calls and
shouts plainly indicated that they ex-
pected to make themselves heard Chill
dren called to their parents more often
than to the experimenter, suggesting that
while they knew their parents were well
out OF hearing, their natural tendency at
these early ages is to call mother or father
when in trouble. This was as true OF
5-year-olds as Of younger children.
While the 2-year-olds to a great
extent reacted helpessly. showing no grasp
of their problem. they did not always act
as frightened as did some of the older
children. When they broke down, cried
or ragged, stamped beat the air or waved
their hands frantically, they were only
acting their age" In other words help
less behavior is appropriate in 2-year-
olds. They expected to be helped out of
their difficulty, as they would be at home
when they called for their mother or
father. BY the age Of 3 or A. when
children have matured TO the point of
ueHB aware Oh the many dangers that
lie in wait around them. they may become
really frightened or even terror stricken.
Then came this final observation b,
the experimenters who, using "snooper
scopes" watched the youngsters in tn,
darkened chamber: "A number Of chill
dren simply knocked politely on the door
suggesting that they carried over int
this situation an activity appropriat,
when they wanted to enter house o.
a room whose door was closed"
The purpose of the experiment wa
to test devices which enable children :,
release themselves If they should b.
trapped In an icebox. The test was scien
tifically conducted, with safeguards I,
minimize emotional disturbances, an,
all OF the children we're of parents VIII,
volunteered for the experiment. We hop
that some good will come of the test
that some lives will be saved through
safety devices on new refrigerators. Blu
the results we're not especially encourag
ing. Only 81 of the 20l tested children
were able To- release themselves. In 1861
eleven children suffocated In Ice boxel