PSYCHOLOGY

The child lives in a context which is itself neither simple nor unitary and which continuously affect his behavior and development. Patterns of stimulation come to him out of this context. In turn, by virtue of his own make-up, he selects from that context. At all times there is a reciprocal relation between the human organism and this bio social context. Because the child is limited in time, behavior becomes structured, and patterns develop both in the stimulus field and in his own response system. Some stimulus patterns become significant because they modify the developmental stream by affecting practice or social relations with others. Others remain insignificant because they do not affect this web of relations. In conclusion there are a unique interaction between the child and his environment shapes his personality, but why one pattern is significant and another is not is a crucial problem for child psychology.