Attachment between an infant and his or her parents is a major topic within developmental psychology. An increasing number of psychologists, evolutionary biologists and anthropologists are articulating their doubts that attachment theory in its present form is applicable worldwide, without, however, denying that the development of attachment is a universal need. This book brings together leading scholars from psychology, anthropology and related fields to reformulate attachment theory in order to fit the cultural realities of our world. Contributions are based on empirical research and observation in a variety of cultural contexts. They are complemented by careful evaluation and deconstruction of many of the underlying premises and assumptions of attachment theory and of conventional research on the role of infant-parent attachment in human development. The book creates a contextual cultural understanding of attachment that will provide the basis for a groundbreaking reconceptualization of attachment theory.

-The ground-breaking original volume offered the first systematic analysis of culturally informed developmental pathways, utilizing ethnographic reports and quantitative and qualitative analysis. -Classic edition includes a new introduction by Keller, recording how she has further developed her conceptual framework. -Covers key topics including infant psychobiology, parenting systems, models of independence and interdependence, self-regulation, theory of mind, and a longitudinal analysis of three cultural environments. -Heidi Keller is a leading figure in the field and recipient of the SRCD Award for Distinguished Contributions to Understanding International, Cultural, and Contextual Diversity in Child Development in 2019.

-The ground-breaking original volume offered the first systematic analysis of culturally informed developmental pathways, utilizing ethnographic reports and quantitative and qualitative analysis. -Classic edition includes a new introduction by Keller, recording how she has further developed her conceptual framework. -Covers key topics including infant psychobiology, parenting systems, models of independence and interdependence, self-regulation, theory of mind, and a longitudinal analysis of three cultural environments. -Heidi Keller is a leading figure in the field and recipient of the SRCD Award for Distinguished Contributions to Understanding International, Cultural, and Contextual Diversity in Child Development in 2019.

Most German-speaking researchers in the area of infant development are familiar with the research conducted in English. However, most English-speaking researchers are relatively unaware of the work currently being done in German. This volume is designed to remedy this imbalance and to promote international collaboration. The book's contributors -- an exciting and innovative group of German-speaking scholars -- provide up-to-date summaries of theoretical, methodological, and empirical perspectives on development. They review evidence and present points of view of great interest to all people who are committed to furthering our collective understanding of development in infancy.

The Myth of Attachment Theory confronts the uncritical acceptance of attachment theory - challenging its scientific basis and questioning the relevance in our modern, superdiverse and multicultural society - and exploring the central concern of how children, and their way of forming relationships, differ from each other. In this book, Heidi Keller examines diverse multicultural societies, proposing that a single doctrine cannot best serve all children and families. Drawing on cultural, psychological and anthropological research, this challenging volume respects cultural diversity as the human condition and demonstrates how the wide heterogeneity of children's worlds must be taken seriously to avoid painful or unethical consequences that might result from the application of attachment theory in different fields. The book explores attachment theory as a scientific construct, deals with attachment theory as the foundation of early education, specifies the dimensions that need to be considered for a culturally conscious approach and, finally, approaches ethical problems which result from the universality claim of attachment theory in different areas. This book employs multiple and mixed methods, while also going beyond critical analysis of theory to offer insight into the implications of the unquestioning acceptance of this theory in such areas as childhood interventions, diagnosis of attachment security, international intervention programs and educational settings. This volume will be a crucial read for scholars and researchers in developmental, educational and clinical psychology, as well as educators, teachers-in-training and other professionals working with children and their families.

Most German-speaking researchers in the area of infant development are familiar with the research conducted in English. However, most English-speaking researchers are relatively unaware of the work currently being done in German. This volume is designed to remedy this imbalance and to promote international collaboration.
The book's contributors -- an exciting and innovative group of German-speaking scholars -- provide up-to-date summaries of theoretical, methodological, and empirical perspectives on development. They review evidence and present points of view of great interest to all people who are committed to furthering our collective understanding of development in infancy.

The Myth of Attachment Theory confronts the uncritical acceptance of attachment theory - challenging its scientific basis and questioning the relevance in our modern, superdiverse and multicultural society - and exploring the central concern of how children, and their way of forming relationships, differ from each other. In this book, Heidi Keller examines diverse multicultural societies, proposing that a single doctrine cannot best serve all children and families. Drawing on cultural, psychological and anthropological research, this challenging volume respects cultural diversity as the human condition and demonstrates how the wide heterogeneity of children's worlds must be taken seriously to avoid painful or unethical consequences that might result from the application of attachment theory in different fields. The book explores attachment theory as a scientific construct, deals with attachment theory as the foundation of early education, specifies the dimensions that need to be considered for a culturally conscious approach and, finally, approaches ethical problems which result from the universality claim of attachment theory in different areas. This book employs multiple and mixed methods, while also going beyond critical analysis of theory to offer insight into the implications of the unquestioning acceptance of this theory in such areas as childhood interventions, diagnosis of attachment security, international intervention programs and educational settings. This volume will be a crucial read for scholars and researchers in developmental, educational and clinical psychology, as well as educators, teachers-in-training and other professionals working with children and their families.

Cultures of Infancy presents the first systematic analysis of culturally informed developmental pathways, synthesizing evolutionary and cultural psychological perspectives for a broader understanding of human development. In this compelling book, author Heidi Keller utilizes ethnographic reports, as well as quantitative and qualitative analyses, to illustrate how humans resolve universal developmental tasks in particular sociodemographic contexts. These contexts are represented in cultural models, and three distinct models are addressed throughout the text: the model of independence with autonomy as developmental organizer; the model of interdependence with relatedness as the developmental organizer; and the model of autonomous relatedness representing particular mixtures of autonomy and relatedness. The book offers an empirical examination of the first integrative developmental task-relationship formation during the early months of life. Keller shows that early parenting experiences shape the basic foundation of the self within particular models of parenting that are influenced by culturally informed socialization goals. With distinct patterns of results the studies have revealed, Cultures of Infancy will help redefine developmental psychology as part of a culturally informed science based on evolutionary ground work. Scholars interested in a broad perspective on human development and culture will benefit from this pioneering volume.

Attachment between an infant and his or her parents is a major topic within developmental psychology. An increasing number of psychologists, evolutionary biologists and anthropologists are articulating their doubts that attachment theory in its present form is applicable worldwide, without, however, denying that the development of attachment is a universal need. This book brings together leading scholars from psychology, anthropology and related fields to reformulate attachment theory in order to fit the cultural realities of our world. Contributions are based on empirical research and observation in a variety of cultural contexts. They are complemented by careful evaluation and deconstruction of many of the underlying premises and assumptions of attachment theory and of conventional research on the role of infant-parent attachment in human development. The book creates a contextual cultural understanding of attachment that will provide the basis for a groundbreaking reconceptualization of attachment theory.

Breaking away from the traditional nature/nurture dialectic, this study brings together biological, psychological and cultural perspectives on development. It asserts that the biological bases of behavior and cultural context should be approached in an integrated fashion to properly understand ontogenetic development and the constraints and opportunities for development. It also examines influences on developmental theory and the extent to which cultural ideas and practices reflect biological and psychological constraints.

Breaking away from the traditional nature/nurture dialectic, this study brings together biological, psychological and cultural perspectives on development. It asserts that the biological bases of behavior and cultural context should be approached in an integrated fashion to properly understand ontogenetic development and the constraints and opportunities for development. It also examines influences on developmental theory and the extent to which cultural ideas and practices reflect biological and psychological constraints.

Exploration and play behaviour form the subject of this book, in which a wide range of research activities, both theoretical and practical, are presented from various fields. In particular, the emphasis on applications (for example, in the development of software) demonstrates the integrated approach to basic and applied research. The authors come from many different countries and represent various theoretical approaches, enabling the reader to acquire an up-to-date overview of the field and thus form an opinion of his/her own regarding this field of research.

Ausgehend von der oeffentlichen Diskussion um die ichbezogene Generation und die individuellen und gesellschaftlichen Konsequenzen analysiert Heidi Keller das fruhe Erziehungs- und Sozialisationsumfeld von Kindern. Vom ersten Tag an orientiert sich elterliches Verhalten an psychologischer Autonomie. Die Einzigartigkeit, Individualitat und insbesondere die innere Welt der Wunsche, Bedurfnisse und Vorlieben stehen zu Hause wie auch in der Kita im Mittelpunkt. Westliche Mittelschichtkinder wachsen daher in einem konsistenten Sozialisationsmilieu auf. Bisher wenig beachtete Konsequenzen dieser Erziehung werden anhand von Beispielen aufgezeigt, wie etwa dem Trotzverhalten, der Abhangigkeit von der ungeteilten Aufmerksamkeit der Eltern und der Verminderung sozialer Kompetenzen.

Nach einer Reprasentativumfrage haben 1974 uber 40% der Mutter nicht, 25 % bis zu vier Wochen und weniger als 10% bis zu 8 Wochen ge- stillt. Vielleicht hat sich das Bild inzwischen etwas zugunsten des Stillens verschoben, wesentlich anders sieht es sicherlich nicht aus. Noch 1964 stillten mehr als 80% der Mutter, davon uber 40% ohne Zufuttern. Noch friiher war das Stillen eine Selbstverstandlichkeit. Die Muttermilch ist in den altesten lateinischen*) Schriften in Deutschland, die sich mit Kindernahrung beschaftigen als einzige mogli- che Nahrung beschrieben: allerdings soil die abgepumpte Milch mit et- was Wein vermischt werden. Wenn Krankheit Brustnahrung nicht ratsam erscheinen laBt, sollte anstelle der Muttermilch Brot, Dunnbier und Ho- nig oder Zucker verwendet werden. Auch uber die Dauer des Stillens gibt es unterschiedliche Angaben. 1765 betrachtete man 12 Monate als naturliche Stilldauer. Abstillen vor dem 6. Monat bedeutet den "armen Kindern den Weg zu unvermeidli- chern Tod". In anderen Schriften wird der Durchbruch der ersten Zahne als nariirliches Abstilldatum angegeben. Der Muttermilch wurde eine geheimnisvolle "Lebenskraft" zuge- schrieben, weshalb auch nach allgemeiner Volksmeinung eine Mutter ihr Kind selbst stillen sollte. In den sog. besseren Kreisen war dies durchaus nicht ublich. Damals glaubte man auBerdem, daB mit der Milch auch Charakterei- genschaften der Stillenden ubertragen werden. Allerdings gab es auch hin und wieder negative Meinungen zum Stillen. So glaubte man z. B. in Schwaben, daB das Stillen zur Schwindsucht beim Kind fuhre.

"Cultures of Infancy" presents the first systematic analysis of culturally informed developmental pathways, synthesizing evolutionary and cultural psychological perspectives for a broader understanding of human development. In this compelling book, author Heidi Keller utilizes ethnographic reports, as well as quantitative and qualitative analyses, to illustrate how humans resolve evolved and universal developmental tasks with respect to particular sociodemographic contexts. These contexts are represented in cultural models, and three distinct models are addressed throughout the text: the model of independence with autonomy as developmental organizer; the model of interdependence with relatedness as the developmental organizer; and the model of autonomous relatedness representing particular mixtures of autonomy and relatedness.
 
The book offers an empirical examination of the first integrative developmental task-relationship formation during the early months of life. Keller shows that early parenting experiences shape the basic foundation of the self within particular models of parenting that are influenced by culturally informed socialization goals. With distinct patterns of results the studies have revealed, "Cultures of Infancy" will help redefine developmental psychology as part of a culturally informed science based on evolutionary ground work.
 
Scholars interested in a broad perspective on human development and culture will benefit from this pioneering volume.

Multidisciplinary perspectives on the cultural and evolutionary foundations of children's attachment relationships and on the consequences for education, counseling, and policy. It is generally acknowledged that attachment relationships are important for infants and young children, but there is little clarity on what exactly constitutes such a relationship. Does it occur between two individuals (infant-mother or infant-father) or in an extended network? In the West, monotropic attachment appears to function as a secure foundation for infants, but is this true in other cultures? This volume offers perspectives from a range of disciplines on these questions. Contributors from psychology, biology, anthropology, evolution, social policy, neuroscience, information systems, and practice describe the latest research on the cultural and evolutionary foundations on children's attachment relationships as well as the implications for education, counseling, and policy. The contributors discuss such issues as the possible functions of attachment, including trust and biopsychological regulation; the evolutionary foundations, if any, of attachment; ways to model attachment using the tools of information science; the neural foundations of attachment; and the influence of cultural attitudes on attachment. Taking an integrative approach, the book embraces the wide cultural variations in attachment relationships in humans and their diversity across nonhuman primates. It proposes research methods for the culturally sensitive study of attachment networks that will lead to culturally sensitive assessments, practices, and social policies. Contributors Kim Bard, Marjorie Beeghly, Allyson J. Bennett, Yvonne Bohr, David L. Butler, Nandita Chaudhary, Stephen H. Chen, James B. Chisholm, Lynn A. Fairbanks, Ruth Feldman, Barbara L. Finlay, Suzanne Gaskins, Valeria Gazzola, Ariane Gernhardt, Jay Giedd, Alma Gottlieb, Kristen Hawkes, William D. Hopkins, Johannes Johow, Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter, Heidi Keller, Michael Lamb, Katja Liebal, Cindy H. Liu, Gilda A. Morelli, Marjorie Murray, Masako Myowa-Yamakoshi, Naomi Quinn, Mariano Rosabal-Coto, Dirk Scheele, Gabriel Scheidecker, Margaret A. Sheridan, Volker Sommer, Stephen J. Suomi, Akira Takada, Douglas M. Teti, Bernard Thierry, Ross A. Thompson, Akemi Tomoda, Nim Tottenham, Ed Tronick, Marga Vicedo, Leslie Wang, Thomas S. Weisner, Relindis D. Yovsi