We often view animals as creatures of habit. We know our pets like to be fed at the same time or let out at a certain time and that there can be a strong reaction to a change in their routine of the day. I witnessed this personally when I began working longer and later hours. My cat at the time rebelled rather strongly by breaking his “habit” (if you know what I mean).
As humans, we enjoy some similarities to the animal kingdom in our tendency to enjoy consistency in our environment. Early on in childhood we learn through conditioning that consistency in our care by primary caretakers satisfies primary needs and alleviates frustration. This process leaves us with a sense of fullness, satisfaction, and comfort.
Through consistent attention as needed by the infant, a view of the world begins to develop as constant. Over time as the brain develops a sense of constancy and the child’s view of it’s world begins to take shape. Constancy in the child’s environment begins to plant an enduring belief of sameness. The child begins to depend, rely on what will happen next in their small world.
As the child begins to anticipate what will occur in their world, this ushers in a sense of predictability. As the child experiences their world and is able to anticipate or predict to some degree what will occur in their world a sense of security deepens.
Competency or control over one’s environment begins to develop. While control often has a negative connotation in adulthood, to a child as well as an adult, control is about managing one’s environment and internal world. When a child or anyone for that matter, is able to predict what will occur within their environment with some degree of accuracy it allows for the development of competency as less energy is expended in adjusting to constant changes. For the child this is often referred to as mastery. Through predictability they can master their world. In other words, the rules are not changing or at least not changing in an erratic fashion.
This process is concomitantly internalized leading to a feeling of control of our internal world. Self-mastery or self-discipline is an important part of achievement and all later stages of development. While the precursors of security are developed early, thank goodness we as humans are able to constantly grow; adjusting previous learning experiences and expanding our capabilities.
While behavioral precursors are important in the development of security, this article does not discuss the importance of parent-child attachment and bonding due to the immense scope of this topic.
Briefly and succinctly put, in behavioral terms, consistency by caretakers breeds… constancy in our perception of the our world…which provides predictability, and leads to a sense of control of our environment….which is internalized… and results in feeling in control of ourselves (self-discipline)… and ultimately to feelings of security, secure in our relationships with others and in ourself.
So maybe we will all think a little differently as we look into the eyes of our children or pet or any other creature of habit.
© 2015 Carolyn Alaimo, Ph.D. All rights reserved.
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