Dynamics of the Process of Development

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This chapter focuses on the process of development, which is considered to be constructive in this discussion. The core ideas can be illustrated by one simple example of behavior change, The Origins of Intelligence. The case described concerns an infant's first experience with a rattle, but it is a general example of a secondary circular reaction. Imagine a 3-month-old who has never held a rattle. If one places the rattle in the infant's hand, the infant—because they are always moving—will shake the rattle causing noise. Indeed, as the infant moves the rattle, it will both come into sight and make noise. This will arouse and agitate the infant more, causing more body motions, and thus, causing the rattle to move into and out of sight and to make more noise. Infants at this age have very little organized control over hand and eye. They cannot yet reach for a rattle and if given one, they do not necessarily shake it. But if the infant accidentally moves it, and sees and hears the consequences, the infant will become captured by the activity—moving and shaking, looking and listening. This pattern of activity—an accidental action that leads to an interesting and arousing outcome, and thus, more activity and the re-experience of the outcome—to be foundational to development itself.