ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at some aspects of behaviour in the first two or three years of life, taking our thoughts and feelings through the experience of the early years. There are a number of theories which link later adult development to early experiences. The chapter refers to: Erikson's stage model of development; Melanie Klein's idea that later 'states of mind' emerge out of earlier ones; and attachment theory. It considers how early experiences influence adult experience. It also introduces psychoanalytic ideas about development, beginning by emphasising the insights that come from careful attention to 'states of mind' from the first days of infancy through to the end of life. Examining the lives of men and women of differing ages across cultures, it was concluded that the key way of describing human development was to focus on 'identity' our changing sense of who we are, what we are capable of, and what we most wish to achieve in our life.
