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The Child's Need to Learn a Culture 1
Author(s) -
Trevarthen Colwyn
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/j.1099-0860.1995.tb00438.x
Subject(s) - negotiation , psychology , language acquisition , developmental psychology , cognition , language development , cognitive development , sociology , social psychology , social science , mathematics education , neuroscience
SUMMARY: This article draws on many years of research into the development of communication, play and cooperation in the first year of life to argue that, from their very earliest days, babies are highly motivated to learn, and are profoundly influenced in their learning by the interplay or ‘protoconversations’ between themselves and their parents and carers. The acquisition of language and thus thinking and understanding is supported by a relationship that demands cooperation and negotiation between adult and small child, and the author emphasises the central role that emotions and their communication have in cognitive growth.