Pre-natal Development and Core Abilities

Abstract

In this chapter, we consider the phylogeny of human infants and, in particular, we look at the innate capabilities of pre-natal infants and how these develop before and just after birth. We begin by looking at the role of action in cognitive behaviour, noting that anticipatory goal-directed actions, initiated by the infant in response to internal motivations, are the key to development. This is consistent with what we said in the previous chapter regarding co-development being a self-generated process. We then proceed to consider the phylogeny of a neonate and the development that occurs prior to birth. We refer to this as pre-structuring and it occurs in several guises: in the morphology of the body, in the motor system, and in the perceptual system. The resultant capabilities that exist at birth are subject to accelerated development early on. These form functional systems to sustain life and to explore and adapt to the infant’s new environment. We then address the core abilities in more detail, looking at core knowledge with respect to capabilities concerning the perception of objects, numeric quantities, space, and people. This brings us to the issue of core social and explorative motives that are responsible for driving development. We conclude this chapter with a summary of the key points that enable the development of cognitive capabilities, the subject matter of the next chapter.