ABSTRACT
Facts were reviewed in Chapter III showing that apparently the most sound explanation of symbolic integration is that which bases it upon social conditioning and the interchange of social stimuli through the mechanisms of the social-vocal-auditory situation. The necessary mechanisms for the beginnings of symbols are given in this social-behaviour situation. This means that a study of symbolic development may be made through an observation of such social behaviour and that this process may be analysed in terms of behaviour. In the nextfour chapters an attempt was made to trace social- behaviour processes in the early symbolic development in children. Although in the past chapters the study of symbols has centred around the language symbols in general and spoken symbols in particular, symbolic behaviour is not limited to verbal language. When once symbols have arisen in behaviour, practically any act or object may become symbolic in character.
