Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-7262s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-15T15:33:07.762Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Representations are constructed: where are the questions about the dynamics of the first interactions and the security of the attachment bond?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2026

Jean-Louis Nandrino  and
Delphine Grynberg Open the ORCID record for Delphine Grynberg [Opens in a new window]
Jean-Louis Nandrino*
Affiliation:
University of Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193–SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Lille, France jean-louis.nandrino@univ-lille.fr delphine.grynberg@univ-lille.fr
Delphine Grynberg
Affiliation:
University of Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193–SCALab, Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Lille, France jean-louis.nandrino@univ-lille.fr delphine.grynberg@univ-lille.fr
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This commentary proposes a dynamic approach to the construction of relationship representations and mentalization. We argue that these processes result from early caregiver–infant interactions, particularly through mechanisms of synchrony, parental sensitivity, and attachment. This extends the author’s model beyond cognitive and innate perspectives by emphasizing the role of early interactions in constructing representations that are embodied, affective, and dynamic.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e40
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Aitken, K. J., & Trevarthen, C. (1997). Self/other organization in human psychological development. Development and Psychopathology, 9(4), 653–677.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss (No. 79). Random House Google Scholar
Davis, M., Bilms, J., & Suveg, C. (2017). In sync and in control: A meta-analysis of parent–child positive behavioral synchrony and youth self-regulation. Family Process, 56(4), 962–980.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, R. (2007). Parent–infant synchrony: Biological foundations and developmental outcomes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 340–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, R. (2015). The adaptive human parental brain: Implications for children’s social development. Trends in Neurosciences, 38(6), 387–399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., & Target, M. (2007). The parent–infant dyad and the construction of the subjective self. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(3–4), 288–328.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Madigan, S., Deneault, A. A., Duschinsky, R., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Schuengel, C., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Ly, A., Fearon, R. M. P., Eirich, R., & Verhage, M. L. (2024). Maternal and paternal sensitivity: Key determinants of child attachment security examined through meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 150(7), 839–872.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McNamara, J., Townsend, M. L., & Herbert, J. S. (2019). A systemic review of maternal wellbeing and its relationship with maternal fetal attachment and early postpartum bonding. PloS ONE, 14(7), Article e0220032.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed