Trends and directions in developmental research.

Perhaps one of the most dramatic fundamental changes in our views of child development has been the relatively recent shift from Freud's view of the infant as an individual struggling to avoid displeasure to Piaget's view of an individual who from the first day of life is essentially an active initiator of all kinds of interactions with his or her environment. Subsequent interactional research shifted the focus again to the interaction among biologic, psychological, and environmental factors. Within this context, infant behavior has probably been the largest single expanding area of child development research in recent years. Some discernible trends and directions of special interest to the clinician will be noted here.