ABSTRACT
If one takes a look at developments in psychoanalytic theory, it is clear that the aim of many of the innovations has been to modify Freud's hypotheses. The classic drive theory is not easily modified however, not even when it is included in models that are undoubtedly better able to describe a child's real development. A child possesses an internal representation of its relationship with its mother and the possible mental states she can have: maternal responsiveness clearly seems to offer evidence of a style of communication, just as the different moods of children are recognisable. The natural ability of children can be described, almost in opposition to the classical model, as a strong natural predisposition towards relations with the object that exists long before this ability can be seen as an early stage of development. The child recognises its mother's facial movements and modifies its own in relation to the effects that this mimicking has on the communication.
