Children at psychiatric risk / edited by E. James Anthony and Cyrille Koupernik.
- Date:
- [1974]
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Credit: Children at psychiatric risk / edited by E. James Anthony and Cyrille Koupernik. Source: Wellcome Collection.
78/584 page 50
![50 Theory for a New Field involves the means by which the individual interacts with his environment (e.g., perception, learning, memory, thinking, and overt response) has been referred to by such terms as mind, self, and ego, and various constructs (e.g., associations, central integrations, cell assemblies, engrams, memory traces, psychic structures, and schemata) have been inferred to account for the development and nature of the В component. The С component refers to parts or all of the total environmental stimuli, reality, field or context, including the cultural, social, and physical aspects of it, and to which the individual (i.e., the A and В components must relate in one way or another. Although these three components are not quite coordinate and the boundaries between them are not quite clear, it is essential to keep in mind that the three components must be considered in concert and as aspects of a conceptual unity. The behavioral system involving the A, B, and С components rests on certain general assumptions or propositions, such as: 1. At birth the normal infant possesses the constitutional structures necessary for survival in a benign and supportive environment. This assumption implies the existence of those primitive В structures and/or schemata which permit at least minimal articulation (or adaptation) between the A and С components which are normal for neonates. 2. Along with the rapidly developing neurophysiological structures, new schemata develop to facilitate new ABC articulations under increasingly complex but relatively specifiable A and С conditions. In the human being, the system initially is dominated primarily by the A component (i.e., the infant is practi¬ cally all id), but with time the В component develops in relation to an increas¬ ingly complex С component, so that (relative to A) В and С come to play increasingly important roles in determining behavior. Along with the intrinsic differences in the properties of individuals' A, B, and С components, with time increased definition develops between the A and В and the В and С components and the relationships among them, so that individuals will differ with respect to their AB, ВС, and ABC definitions and relationships. 3. Particular В schemata have their roots in both the particular A and С components existing at the time such В schemata are developed. Subsequently, particular В schemata will be activated if the associated A's and C's exist and are sufficiently imperative. (Haggard [5] pp. 444-446) The following propositions also pertain to states such as adaptation and trauma: 4. Although the infant comes equipped with some behavior patterns that reflect rudimentary В schemata (sometimes called instincts), they are modified over time as they articulate between the developing A component and the characteristics of the С component (e.g., lower or middle class, urban or rural) to which the individual is exposed and learns to adapt. 5. New В schemata develop in accordance with the laws of learning, which involve, for example, the nature and strength of](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b18021876_0079.JP2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
