Self-Regulation in Early Childhood: Nature and Nurture

This is a rather complex book about an equally complex but essential ingredient for our holistic understanding of child development. The author, Martha Bronson EdD, is an Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College, where she directs the early childhood program. Her academic background is primarily in Massachusetts, USA, as she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University. The book is divided into two main parts and offers a broad canvas of academic theories and clinical examples, summarized in very detailed tables. Part I, ‘Theoretical and Research: Perspectives on Self-Regulation, reviewed many psychological theories relating to early infant development and inherent infant self-regulation. The most interesting of the 6 chapters for the practicing or academic child/infant psychiatrist would be: Interrelation of motivation and self-regulation, Controlling emotion and behavior, Controlling cognitive processing and Self-regulation and control systems in the brain. Bronson relied heavily on Social Learning Theorists such as Albert Bandura and Social Cognitive Theorists such as Lee Vygotsky and was rather cursory in her consideration of Piagetian, Ericksonian or psychoanalytic theories of development and their possible relationship to self-regulation. Motivation for self-regulation is particularly vulnerable to environmental influences. As Bronson pointed out “infants need experiences that support their interest in exploration and experimentation” and “toddlers need support for their burgeoning interest in independence and self-direction which allows them some degree of success in their efforts. ” As examples, she quoted Bandura’s four cognitive processes in cognitive problem solving situations: They have to learn to PAY ATTENTION to relevant environmental information and to their own cognitive processes. They have to learn to represent and REMEMBER relevant information from the environment and from their own memory store. Children must also acquire the ability to CARRY OUT specific cognitive learning and problem solving activities in particular cognitive tasks. Children must be MOTIVATED to carry out the cognitive activity, believing that they can be successful in doing so. Anyone who has treated children with severe ADHD or developmentally delayed children from abusive homes will see the challenges in Bandura’s thesis. Part II ‘Research to Practice: Supporting Self-Regulation in Early Childhood’ began with a beautifully articulated construct which captured the nature component of self-regulation. “The human brain is genetically designed to search for, discover, and impose order and meaning on experience. It spontaneously organizes itself in interaction with the environment and is innately rewarded by finding patterns, categories and predicable cause-effect sequences. ” Unfortunately, the review of the neurological and neuropsychiatric underpinnings of this statement was a bit one dimensional, only pursuing the role of the frontal lobes in self-regulation. However, Part II had some practical tables that gave specific suggestions for play therapy, language therapy and dyadic parent/child therapy, all of which have therapeutic significance for the management of self-regulation. The author included strategies that increase self-regulation in problem solving and learning ‘self -instruction strategies,’ by behavioral psychologists such as Meichenbaum. Overall this is a valuable resource book for child/infant psychiatrists involved with pre-school early intervention programs and early childhood programs. It is fashioned for a non-medical audience but has a wealth of information essential for clinical understanding and remediation of an increasingly recognized psychiatric population.