This study investigated the effects of availability of a familiar human attachment object (the mother) and familiar inanimate attachment object (the child's blanket) on a child's emotionality and learning of a discrimination task. A total of 64, 2- and 3-year-old children were assigned to groups (nonattached, mother-attached, or blanket-attached), and given a simple conditioning-extinction-reconditioning task in an unfamiliar play setting. Children in the groups with either human or inanimate attachment did significantly better on the discrimination task with less visible distress than the children who had no attachment object available. The presence of the attachment objects also facilitated the 2- and 3-year-olds habituation to an unfamiliar environment. (Author)