The development of time sense--from birth to object constancy

This paper represents an attempt to delineate the developmental line of time sense from birth to object constancy, concentrating on those maturational and environmental factors which determine psychotemporal adaptation in infancy and early childhood. Observational data and clinical vignettes are used to support theoretical formulations. Time sense is understood as a subjective, dynamic emergence which evolves throughout the life cycle. Psychoanalysis has paid little attention to the theory of time, and much needs to be accomplished to formulate the developmental line of time for the remainder of the life cycle.