ABSTRACT
The chapters in this section demonstrate, I believe, that research on early development from French-language countries is as rich and diverse as the field as a whole. The first two chapters exemplify one source of diversity. De Schonen and Deruelle view the human infant primarily as a neural system growing in interaction with its immediate environment: Their research illustrates how the study of developing perceptual and cognitive capacities and the study of the developing human brain illuminate one another. Rochat and Bullinger, in contrast, view the human infant as an organism that acts adaptively at every point in development and grows in harmony with its environment: Their research illustrates how an ecologically oriented study of development can shed light on the origins and nature of complex actions. Within biology, mechanistic and ecological approaches are complementary, and the same is likely to be true in psychology. This diversity of perspectives stands to enrich our understanding of the growing child’s capacities to perceive, act, and reason.
