ABSTRACT
This chapter will begin by discussing the limitations of stage theories of development. It will then present the basic assumptions of a dynamic systems approach to development that requires locating the infant in a biopsychosocial context. The discussion will focus on our biological givens, brain organization, distinctions between conscious, non-conscious, and unconscious, the infant’s capacity for psychological experience, infant perceptual capacities, infant intentionality, and infant social capacities. It will argue that we inherit general capacities, not content, such as a preformed image of the human face, or a preformed attachment system. The chapter ends with concluding implications of this approach and what new capacities emerge over time.
