The phenomenon of previewing and its contribution to the emerging sense of self.

Based on stringent measures of the infant's social interactions, Stern has postulated a four-step process of self-development. These internal factors contribute to the infant's emerging sense of the self as an entity separate and apart from others. There are, however, also significant external factors that contribute to the evolution of the self. The phenomenon of previewing provides infant with a means by which they develop, with the aid of an adaptive caregiver, their own abilities to achieve a sense of coherence and competence. The previewing process, combined with Stern's internal factors, provides a comprehensive theoretical basis for exploring how infants achieve selfhood.