RE: RE: [xmca] Maternal affect attunement MEDIATING dyadic and triadic communication

[Rod Parker-Rees <R.Parker-Rees@plymouth.ac.uk>]

Hi Larry,

It does seem that communication may be a rather different kind of process when it is grounded in trust, familiarity and/or love. Much of our education system seems to be based on models of communication as competitive performance (the battle of ideas) rather than convivial conversation and this leads many students to withdraw (long silences in seminars). Coming to a place of safety and rest seems to be supported by the opportunity to develop social relationships with peers (and tutors) around the frame of 'tuition' or 'instruction' - people who feel comfortable with each other are more willing to challenge each other (siblings being a good example!).

I do also feel that the 'coming to a place of safety' is relevant to the tutor/adult too - the vigilant assessment mode can take a 'teacher' out of the more familiar modes of communication just as it takes the 'learner' out. This is, I think, one of the reasons why the Steiner kindergarten teachers' more intuitive approach to assessment - getting to know children by being alongside them - offers a promising model.

All the best,

Rod

-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Larry Purss
Sent: 28 January 2010 05:20
To: of eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: Re: RE: [xmca] Maternal affect attunement MEDIATING dyadic and triadic communication

Hi Rod
I'm glad you are as interested in this topic as I am.  Your highlighting the relation of "a sense of attunement"  in the mother-infant dyad as creating  a sense of safety (defined as resting from the need to monitor oneself and avoid JUDGEMENT) seems to be a central dynamic in this early relationship. 
 
This monitoring our social relationships as an activity of maintaining normative connections with the social group may continue to be pervasive in our interactions beyond infancy. This is the dramaturgical notion of activity  theorized by Erving Goffman and extended by Scheff in his notion of shame as a foundational emotion.  
The notion of  MARKED maternal attunement as a dynamic activity may continue beyond infancy and have the adaptive purpose of bringing the self to a place of safety and rest. When safe the person can then orient to communicative activity and to experiences of novelty and emergence.  
It may be that in the teaching/learning relationship the learner must first come to a place of safety and rest (and not be preoccupied by the dramaturgical activity of presentation of self) before the activity of teaching/learning is optimized.  If this notion has some merit, then the discussions about the activity of testing  (as a way of measuring and judging) would keep students constantly vigilant to indications of normative judgement.  This dynamic process of attunement (and coming to rest) may be a possible explanation of Anna Sfard's recognition that students often are not ready to negotiate communicative activity or benefit from teaching/learning activity.  
These constructs of attunement, safety, judgement, and various types of activity may be connected in a map which guides teachers as a way of supporting students in schools.  Attachment theory is also looking at these relationships. 
This perspective helps me position myself in my work to put attunement at the heart of helping students.

Larry
 


----- Original Message -----
From: Rod Parker-Rees <R.Parker-Rees@plymouth.ac.uk>
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 8:52 am
Subject: RE: [xmca] Maternal affect attunement MEDIATING dyadic and triadic communication
To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>

> Many thanks for this, Larry.
> 
> I have just been reading  a review article by Peter Fonagy, 
> George Gergely and Mary Target, 'The parent-infant dyad and the 
> construction of the subjective self' (from way back in 2007!) 
> which argues for a close interaction between the processes by 
> which attachment and joint attention are established. What I 
> particularly liked in it was the suggestion that maternal love 
> is associated with inhibition of activity in brain regions 
> associated with social appraisal and judgment, creating a 
> particularly 'safe' environment for the development of 
> intersubjectivity (though the authors are not too keen on the 
> focus on intersubjectivity). It seems to me that questions about 
> triadic communication must recognise the not-quite-separate-yet 
> nature of child and infant identities in the first (post partum) 
> year or so of the mother-infant dyad.
> 
> I look forward to reading the Legerstee, Markova and Fisher article.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> Rod
> 
> 
> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-
> bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Larry Purss
> Sent: 27 January 2010 15:46
> To: Activity eXtended Mind, Culture,
> Subject: [xmca] Maternal affect attunement MEDIATING dyadic and 
> triadic communication
> 
> Hi Mike
> and everyone else interested in the ontological development of 
> communicative action.
> I have sent an attachment discussing developmental constructs 
> that are being put into relation in ways that posit "maternal 
> attunment" as the mediational variable as infants move from 
> dyadic to triadic communication.
> Mike describing gaze monitoring as dyadic could be challenged by 
> Gergeley's notion of the theory of pedagogy as MARKED gaze or 
> MARKED attunement and therefore triadic.  However with this 
> qualification this article is speaking to experience that I 
> believe is fundamental to understanding intersubjectivity.  
> The question of PRIMARY or secondary intersubjectivity is discussed.
> Also the methodology could be challenged but I want to draw 
> attention to the theoretical discussion.
> 
> The reason I believe this is a central question for development 
> is my intuition that as we move to "higher levels" of 
> development and complexity I don't believe we TRANSCEND the 
> earlier patterns of organization and REPLACE these earlier 
> formations but rather transform our RELATIONSHIP to these 
> earlier patterns.  Therefore in schools, where I work, when 
> children become "dysregulated or overwhelmed" I have a "sense" 
> "attunement" (as mediation) is required to re=establish the 
> teacher/learner/object communicative activity.
> I could say more but have to go to work.
> I hope others may have insights that this article puts in play.
> Larry
> 
> 
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