ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews briefly some of the important studies which have opened up an understanding of the neonatal period. In the psychoanalytic field, direct observation of children and mothers has been developing since the late 1940s. Rene Spitz and Anna Freud studied children's behavior in situations where they were separated from parents, in institutions and under war conditions respectively. Their studies alerted observers to the defensive operations that these stressful situations triggered in children. From ethology comes the notion of the infant's competence and influence on the caregiver. Concepts derived from learning theory have also contributed to the understanding of early parent-infant interaction. John Bowlby, unlike earlier psychoanalysts, maintained that the exchange with the mother is not based solely on simple oral gratification and its concomitant tension reduction. He borrowed from ethology the idea of "species specific" innate mechanisms.
