The development of autonomy and superego precursors

Superego precursors appear in the latter part of the first year, concomitant with the behavioural control necessitated and made possible by ego development, particularly of intentionality, communication, and mobility. During the second year of life wilful strivings intensify, complicated by the power struggles of the rapprochement crisis. A subtle process of negotiation accompanies the learning of parental rules and regulations, and the infant also learns that some rules and limits are non-negotiable. The development of the superego depends not only on 'identification with the aggressor' and self-directed aggression, but on positive identifications and internalizations of approval. While the real attitudes of the caregiver are communicated and are important, superego precursors, because of the infant's drives, defences, and ego immaturity, may be far removed from the reality of the caregiver's attitudes and intent. The parents' and infants' inter-identifications and empathy for each other contribute to the capacity for self-criticism, guilt, and remorse, attributes of the developing superego.