ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the challenge that different cultural beliefs about parents and infants for the practice of infant observation and clinical work and explains the concept of mind-mindedness into play alongside the central concept of maternal reverie. In many cultures, particularly more socio-centric ones, parents remain the most central carers, but are much more part of a matrix of communal care in which interaction is based on complex group dynamics and not dyadic ones, and in which webs of social bonds are more valued. Indeed, differences in how language is used and valued are an important aspect of the socio-centric—egocentric distinction. Heidi Keller has undertaken fascinating cross-cultural studies, comparing for example Nso mothers with German mother–infant pairs. She has shown videos to mothers in one culture of interactions between mothers and babies in another culture and asked them to respond.
