The relevance of the fetal and neonatal period for the development of novelty preferences, learning, habituation and hemispheric specialization.
The concept of instinct has been largely based on thinking which relies on an either or approach to determining the genesis of information required for the development of behavior patterns. In part, in response to criticisms of dichotomous views by Schneirla and Lehrman adherents of the view that there exist two distinct sources of information, that is, genetic or environmental (and all of the variants of this nomenclature including its most modern and currently popular form, that is, hard or soft wired) have modified their stance by positing that all characteristics are products of both. They therefore maintain that the task for analysis is parceling out the amount contributed by each source. Gottlieb's approach to an understanding of the development of various characteristics undercut this view by pointing out the inextricable relationship between the various components at all levels of organization. His view gives prenatal and early postnatal events particular relevance for explicating the intertwined nature of developmental processes. In this essay I will present suggestions from a variety of studies which explore and instantiate some of these complex relationships with regard to, novelty preferences, learning, habituation, and cognitive functioning and its' hemispheric specialization. I will also provide examples of how the unique characteristics of early stages of development promote particular types of epigenesis.
Turkewitz
Gerald
G
Hunter College and The Graduate, Center of The City University of New York, New York, NY, USA. gturkewi@hunter.cuny.edu
D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007858:Learning