Distancing Theory: Looking at Early Ontogeny through Sigel’s Perspective

Abstract

We propose a comment on Sigel’s Psychological Distancing Model, dealing with a transactional perspective and direct links between a specific parental input and a child’s competence. We examine how (as Sigel [2002] has postulated) the PDM is suitable for the study of early maternal interventions. We discuss why it is, however, necessary to adjust the PDM to the specific preverbal age, from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. An empirical study reports findings with 12- to 21-month-old children.