ABSTRACT
The assimilation of the child into the prevailing sociocultural milieu is a signifi cant and remarkable process. The neonatal human is an undifferentiated organ ism who is generally perceived as cute, cuddly, and lovable by his parents, but is essentially an unknowing, dependent, demanding, and often unreasonable little creature. He is not equipped at birth with a set of social or cultural attitudes. He possesses no interpersonal skills. He speaks no language. He evidences no sense of morality, sex-role identity, achievement, competence, etc. It is easy to under stand how John Locke (1690) could describe the infant as tabula rasa — a blank slate, who is therefore receptive to any and all kinds of learning.
