New views on cognitive development

Recent empirical findings viewed from a cognitive developmental perspective suggest new interpretive stances toward three familiar themes —the fears of infancy, the discontinuous quality of stages in cognitive functioning, and the capacity for resilience in cognitive development. (1) Time of onset and decline of separation anxiety in infants are primarily a function of the infant's level of cognitive development rather than variation in interactive experiences with the caretaker. (2) Cognitive competences seem to be severely limited to specific problem contexts, and we should not talk of competences in the abstract. Hence stages should be viewed as continuous and gradual. (3) Young mammals seem to retain a capacity for recovery from early experiences that retard normal development if they are fortunate enough to be moved to a more benign context.The research summarized in this article was supported over the past 18 years by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Spencer Foundation, the Office of Child Development, the Foundation for Child Development, and the Grant Foundation.Delivered at the Tenth Anniversary of Pritzker Children's Psychiatric Unit of Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. P. Devryer, Director, Chicago, Illinois 60615, March 8, 1975.Received his Ph.D. in psychology from Yale University in 1954. Joint concentration in both physiological and personality development. Current interests are in the growth of cognitive, social, and affective systems during the first decade of life.