A MODEL OF INFANTILE REPRESENTATIONS

The author presents a model of how the subjective experiences of the i nfant become representations. They have various characteristics: they are nonverbal and are based on repeated prototypical objective events, which are reproduced in an isomorphic manner through internal (self-) experiences. Affects play a special role in this process. Through repe ated interactions various schemas are developed, e. g., schemas of per ception, of sequences of experiences, or of affects. The ''protonarrat ive cover'', a schema involving meanings, occupies a central position. These schemas are finally integrated into a schema of being together with others, a whole network of schemas. This network itself then infl uences later representations.