Developing mechanisms of self-regulation

Child development involves both reactive and self-regulatory mechanisms tha t children develop in conjunction with social norms. A half-century of rese arch has uncovered aspects of the physical basis of attentional networks th at produce regulation, and has given us some knowledge of how the social en vironment may alter them. In this paper, we discuss six Forms of developmen tal plasticity related to aspects of attention. We then focus on effortful or executive aspects of attention, reviewing research on temperamental indi vidual differences and important pathways to normal and pathological develo pment. Pathologies of development may arise when regulatory and reactive sy stems fail to reach the balance that allows for both self-expression and so cially acceptable behavior. It remains a challenge for our society during t he next millennium to obtain the information necessary to design systems th at allow a successful balance to be realized by the largest possible number of children.