ERIC Number: EJ1317424
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0300-4430
EISSN: N/A
A Psychoanalytic Framework for Interpreting Young Child Observations That Integrates Emotional and Cognitive Development
Shaw, Janet
Early Child Development and Care, v191 n14 p2217-2231 2021
The paper looks at the relevance of W.R. Bion's 'Theory of Thinking' to the interpretation of young child observations. Bion describes a process whereby emotional experience, when contained by a caregiver, gives rise to a capacity for symbol formation, which is at the root of imagination and language. The study consists of eight written hour-long observations of pre-school children which form the data for the study. The data were analysed using template analysis. The results indicate that all children in the study communicated primitive feelings to adults who were contained to a greater or lesser extent. All children demonstrated some capacity for representing their feelings through symbol formation, but this could break down when frustration levels were high. Bion's Theory of Thinking was found to be highly applicable and relevant to the interpretation of the young child observations.
Descriptors: Psychiatry, Child Development, Preschool Children, Observation, Thinking Skills, Imagination, Cognitive Development, Language Acquisition, Emotional Development, Developmental Psychology, Interpersonal Relationship, Self Control, Child Behavior, Identification (Psychology), Caregiver Child Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A