A Young Mind in a Growing Brain

336 Pages·1.57 MB·English

by  Herschkowitz, Norbert;Kagan, Jerome

A YOUNG MIND
IN A GROWING BRAIN
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A YOUNG MIND
IN A GROWING BRAIN
Jerome Kagan
Harvard University
Norbert Herschkowitz
University of Bern
With the collaboration of
Elinore Herschkowitz
First published 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
This edition published 2014 by Psychology Press
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Copyright © 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
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Cover design by Sean Trane Sciarrone
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kagan,Jerome.
Youngmindinagrowingbrain/JeromeKagan,NorbertHerschkowitz,
ElinoreHerschkowitz.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8058-5309-X (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 0-8058-5425-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1.Childpsychology. 2.Infantpsychology. 3.Brain—Growth. 4.Cog-
nitiveneuroscience. I.Herschkowitz,Norbert. II.Herschkowitz,
Elinore. III. Title.
BF721.K18 2005
155.4'3—dc22 2005040052
CIP
BookspublishedbyLawrenceErlbaumAssociatesareprintedonacid-
free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability.
ISBN-13: 978-1-410-61359-2 (ebk)
Sciencetellsuswhatwecanknow,butwhatwecanknowislittleandifwe
forgethowmuchwecannotknowwebecomeinsensitivetomanythingsof
very great importance.
—BertrandRussell,AHistoryofWesternPhilosophy.
1945,NewYork:Simon&Schuster.
Thequestionalwaystoaskwhenexaggerated,dogmaticassertionsaremade
is:Whatisactuallytrueinthis?Oragain:Inwhatcaseisthatactuallytrue?
—LudwigWittgenstein,CultureandValue.
1980,UniversityofChicagoPress.
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Contents
Preface ix
1 BrainandBehavioralDevelopment 1
2 PrenatalDevelopment 33
3 Birthto6Months 60
4 TheSecondTransition:7to12Months 107
5 TheSecondYear 149
6 2to8Years 187
7 Reflections 218
References 258
AuthorIndex 295
Subject Index 315
vii
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Preface
Thestunningdiscoveriesbyneuroscientists,behavioralbiologists,devel-
opmentalpsychologists,andpediatriciansoverthelasthalfcenturyhave
brought the broad boundaries of these disciplines into initial points of
contact. These advances are a cause for celebration and an invitation to
those with the time and passion to search for an initial set of integrative
propositions that unite the phenomena these disciplines probe. Such a
synthesisoccurredinbiologyover60yearsagowhenscholarsrecognized
the complementary contributions of genes and ecology to animal evolu-
tion. A second, equally fruitful, synthesis is forming as molecular biolo-
gistsandproteinchemistscollaborateinattemptstoelucidatethemecha-
nisms that allow the estimated 30,000 genes to manufacture more than
100,000 proteins.
Thisbooksummarizessomeinitialconclusionsthatfollowsimultaneous
examination of the psychological milestones of human development dur-
ingthefirstdecadeandwhathasbeenlearnedaboutbraingrowth.How-
everintriguing,thesecorrelationsintimingbetweenchangesinbrainand
psychological competence cannot prove that the former caused the latter,
anditisnotpossibleatpresenttomapinanydetailthepsychologicalphe-
nomena on the biological events.
Although we argue that the biological events enable the new psycho-
logical properties, we do not assume a one-way maturational model.
Braingrowthisshapedbytheinteractionsofgenes,geneexpression,and
experience.Abraindeprivedofstimulusinputwillhaveacompromised
structure; hence, an infant isolated from social experience will show
anomalousgrowthofbrain,aswellasdelayeddevelopmentofbehavior,
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