The Neurobehavioral and Social–Emotional Development of Infants and Children

Abstract

The Neurobehavioral and Social–Emotional Development of Infants and Children by Ed Tronick, New York, NY, W. W. Norton and Company, 2007, 571pp, $55.00, Hardcover with DVD. For at least 3 decades, Ed Tronick has been a presence and a leader in the field of child development. He has contributed enormously to our understanding and knowledge of children both as a researcher and teacher. This book brings together in one volume his influential writing with commentaries and new insights. In addition, the book, written in the first person, is a presentation and argument for his Mutual Regulation Model (MRM) of infant/adult interaction. MRM sees infants as part of a dyadic communicative system in which the adult and infant mutually regulate and scaffold their interactions by communicating their intentions and responding to them. MRM sees the infant as an active participant, not as a passive bystander. The infant and adult cocreate their interactions and relationship such that this is a dyadic and dynamic process that often is unpredictable with outcomes that are unpredictable. Thus, each relationship, in each context, and over time is a unique experience. The book is organized into five sections: neurobehavior, culture, infant social-emotional interaction, perturbations, dyadic expansion of consciousness, and meaning making. Subsumed under these sections are chapters with theoretical and background constructs and others presenting data from previous studies. This reviewer found the section on culture particularly interesting as Tronick presents data that questions some of the western held beliefs about bonding and attachment and the continuous care and contact model. He suggests that in some cultures and in some contexts multiple caretaking is functional and serves the infant and adult equally well. The final section of the book, not withstanding the overall book, is of considerable interest as he expands and discusses the MRM and its clinical applications. Tronick discusses, among other topics, the infants self-organizing capabilities. He addresses the nature of normal and abnormal infant-adult interactions and the ability of the infant and adult to repair mismatches and what may happen when repair is unsuccessful. In a word, the book is tour de force of Tronick's experience and insights well-presented and readable. For those interested in the development of infant-adult relationships placed into neurobiological, developmental and environmental contexts this is a volume that should be read. Edward Goldson, MD University of Colorado School of Medicine Denver, CO