Final answer:
Before an infant experiences separation anxiety, they must reach the milestone of object permanence, which typically develops between 5 to 8 months old during the sensorimotor stage of Piaget's cognitive development theory.
Step-by-step explanation:
The developmental milestone that must be reached before an infant experiences separation anxiety is object permanence. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or otherwise sensed.
Jean Piaget, the renowned developmental psychologist, proposed that during the sensorimotor stage of development, which lasts from birth to about 2 years old, infants learn about the world through their senses and motor behavior. By about 5 to 8 months old, infants develop object permanence. This cognitive milestone underlies the infant's ability to feel separation anxiety because the infant can now remember and miss their caregiver even when the caregiver is not physically present.