Colwyn Trevarthen (born 1931)
is Emeritus Professor of Child Psychology and Psychobiology at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
.
Background
After training as a biologist in New Zealand at
Auckland University College and
Otago University, Trevarthen researched infancy at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1967.
Work
Trevarthen has published on brain development, infant communication and emotional health. He believes that very young babies rapidly develop proto-cultural intelligence through interacting with other people, including in teasing fun play.
For instance he has demonstrated that a newborn has an innate ability to initiate a dialogic relationship with an adult, and then build up this relationship through eye contact, smiling, and other holistic body functions rhythmically and cooperatively.
He studied successful interactions between infants and their primary care givers, and found that the mother's responsiveness to her baby's initiatives supported and developed intersubjectivity (shared understanding), which he regarded as the basis of all effective communication, interaction and learning.
He has applied
intersubjectivity
In philosophy, psychology, sociology, and anthropology, intersubjectivity is the relation or intersection between people's cognitive perspectives.
Definition
is a term coined by social scientists to refer to a variety of types of human interac ...
to the very rapid cultural development of new born infants.
and used the term ‘primary intersubjectivity’ to refer to early developing sensory-motor processes of interaction between infants and caregivers. He believes babies are looking for companionship (including the sense of fun and playfulness), engagement and relationship (rather than using the term
attachment), and that companions can include mothers, fathers, other adults, peers and siblings; he has said ''"I think the ideal companion – and it can be a practitioner or not – is a familiar person who really treats the baby with playful human respect."''
In later years his work has focused on the musicality of babies, including its use in communication.
He is a fellow of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway.
History
The Royal Frederick Unive ...
.
Video interaction guidance
In the 1980s Harry Biemans, in the Netherlands, applied Trevarthen's research using video clips and created
video interaction guidance (VIG), which is used for instance with mothers and young babies in
attachment-based therapy Attachment-based therapy applies to interventions or approaches based on attachment theory, originated by John Bowlby. These range from individual therapeutic approaches to public health programs to interventions specifically designed for foster car ...
.
Quote
Stephen Seligman said Trevarthen ''"has distinguished himself for more than four decades as one of the most inventive and rigorous explorers of infant development and its implications. Among the infant research cognoscenti, he ranks... in breaking misleading assumptions of the varied disciplines to see what mothers and babies really do."''
[Seligman, 2009, "Anchoring intersubjective models..." Psychoanalytical Dialogues 19, p504, quoted in Video Interaction Guidance, Kennedy.]
See also
*
Baby talk
Baby talk is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called caretaker speech, infant-directed speech (IDS), child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed language (CDL), caregiver register, parent ...
*
Attachment-based therapy Attachment-based therapy applies to interventions or approaches based on attachment theory, originated by John Bowlby. These range from individual therapeutic approaches to public health programs to interventions specifically designed for foster car ...
*
Intersubjectivity
In philosophy, psychology, sociology, and anthropology, intersubjectivity is the relation or intersection between people's cognitive perspectives.
Definition
is a term coined by social scientists to refer to a variety of types of human interac ...
*
Musicality
*
Interaction theory
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trevarthen, Colwyn
1931 births
Living people
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
British family and parenting writers