Preverbal children as co-researchers: Exploring subjectivity in everyday living

This article theoretically refines the rendering of a conceptual framework suitable for including preverbal subjects, i.e., infants, in research. It is argued that the theoretical framework psychology from the standpoint of the subject is useful, as its conceptualization of the human-world relationship is a dialectical one that emphasizes how children are active subjects in their own lives. Nevertheless, key concepts such as subjective reasons for action and first-person perspective, do not sufficiently encompass bodily and emotional activity. The article discusses the framework's inadequacies and, by extension, proposes the notion of Befindlichkeit, a German word translated here as embodied orientation, as a key concept that allows the inclusion of infants and toddlers as co-researchers. Befindlichkeit contributes to the analysis of the human-world relationship by situating bodily and emotional activities in processes of orientating in social practice.