Infant and Child DevelopmentInf. Child Dev. 10: 235–240 (2001)
Book Reviews
a particularly interesting chapter inwhich, amongst other things, he spec-ulates on the childhood developmentof intentional self-development. Fourmajor themes are pursued: the appear-ance of (i) the intentional self in in-fancy, (ii) the conceptual self (in whichduring early childhood we become ob-jects to ourselves and generate self-representations), (iii) the capacity forself-monitoring (in which during mid-childhood we become capable of self-evaluation and self-correction) and (iv)the self-actualizing self. It is this lattertheme which in the present context ismost important: ‘The gradual emer-gence and integration of the inten-tional, symbolic and self-monitoringfunctions of the self-system set thestage for a profound shift in the rela-tion between development and inten-tional action, in that self-systemprocesses now increasingly become adriving force of developmentalchange’ (pp. 54–55). The means bywhich individuals may actualize aspi-rations for the self are discussed byBrandstadter and many others in thevolume. However, perhaps unsurpris-ingly, the focus in most chapters isprimarily upon intentional self-devel-opment among adults.
Chapters specifically concerned withdevelopment in childhood include thatby Mascolo, Fischer and Neimeyer.This chapter reviews current theoriz-ing on the development of intentional-ity in infancy and then, drawing uponFischer’s skill theory, goes on to intro-duce a highly detailed, alternative ac-count, ranging from very early infancythrough to adulthood. What is impor-tant here is that Mascolo et al. move usbeyond the rather sterile debate aboutwhen intentionality appears. Instead,they conceive of the development of
ACTION ANDSELF-DEVELOPMENT. Edited byJochen Brandstadter and Richard M.Lerner, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA,1999. No. of pages 540. Price £53(hardback) ISBN 0-761-91543-5.
This book has an important message:developmentalists should conceive ofself-development not only as the out-come of diverse causes, but also as theresult of intentional processes. Thebook’s basic proposition is that indi-viduals produce representations ofthemselves and of their physical andsocial worlds, and that the apprehen-sion of these representations guidesand motivates the actions that lead tofurther development. Thus, humanontogeny is conceived, at least to somedegree, as a reflexive process in whichindividuals self-consciously steer theirown self-development.
This ‘action approach’ is gainingcurrency among developmentalistsconcerned with adult development.However, it is relatively less familiarto those concerned with children’s de-velopment. The reasons for this lack offamiliarity are clear: early in develop-ment, especially prior to the capacityfor reflexive monitoring of the self, thesorts of processes addressed by thisbook are out of the running. Shouldwe be interested, then, in what is saidin this book? Of course. As Brand-stadter, Wentura and Rothermundnote, ‘When self-definitions and iden-tity projects become articulate duringontogeny, a dialectical shift occurs inthe relation between development andaction, and personal development in-creasingly becomes a target area ofintentional activity’ (p. 374).
From the point of view of child de-velopmentalists, Brandstadter presents
Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Book Reviews236
intentionality in terms of the grad-ual construction of hierarchically orga-nized control systems, beginning withthe simple reflexes of infancy, throughsensorimotor actions and then repre-sentations, to the highly abstract sys-tems found in adults. The theory hasthe further advantage that by makingrepresentation dependent upon actionin ontogenesis, it obviates the problemof infinite regress posed by conven-tional representational accounts of in-tentionality. Developmentally Mascoloet al.’s chapter is a tour de force, in thatit is both a uniquely detailed accountof development in this area and onethat spans the entire range from birthto adulthood.
Apart from this chapter, few othersspeak directly to childhood develop-ment. An exception is that by Skinner,who looks at the development of cop-ing. In particular, she makes the casethat the action perspective adopted bycontributors to this volume provides avaluable way to reconceptualize cop-ing— that is, to view it as ‘action regu-lation under stress’. Interestingly, sheshows how, through their embedded-ness in relationships, action, regulationand coping process are co-constructed.
Another chapter that makes refer-ence to early development, albeitbriefly, is that by Quigley and Barrett.The chapter begins by noting howearly experiences of threat lead to anover-sensitivity to the perception ofthreat in later life. The case is madethat only through the intentional de-ployment of new social-perceptualstrategies later in life can these earlyliabilities be discarded. Clearly, thischapter, like that by Skinner, has im-portant implications for clinicians.
The remaining chapters are con-cerned almost exclusively with devel-opment in adulthood, and are unlikelyto be of great interest to child develop-mentalists. For example, Little looks atthe relationship between individuals‘personal projects’ and their socialecology; Smith examines ‘life plan-ning’; Freund et al. look at factors asso-ciated with successful developmentand ageing; and Fung et al. considerpsychological control in later life.
Unsurprisingly, given the theoreticalaims of this volume, the common fo-cus of these chapters is the role ofintentionality in various aspects ofself-development. It is quite clear,however, that human agents are notall-powerful producers of their owndevelopment; adequate accounts mustalso specify the constraints on inten-tional self-development. Although thispoint is acknowledged widely, it isdiscussed in an insightful and engag-ing way by Dannefer who considershow ‘human action is simultaneouslypotent and constrained’.
Overall, then, there isn’t a great dealhere for academics concerned withchildhood development. However, itwould be a great pity if typical readersof this journal were to bypass thisbook. The relevant material is morethan merely thought-provoking: itposes some serious challenges to theexisting literature on self-develop-ment, and suggests radical and fertileprogrammes of new research.
Mark BennettUniversity of Dundee,
Scotland, UK
DOI: 10.1002/icd.224
Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Inf. Child Dev. 10: 235–240 (2001)
