Pearson focuses attention on the child's separation from his parents and increasing relatedness to his peers, especially during the late prelatency period and various phases of latency. This separation is seen not only as a basis for the child's capacity to socialize but is also an important aspect of repressing and otherwise managing Oedipal conflicts. Interference with this separation, a critical phase of the child's developement, whether it comes from the parents or the child himself, leads to crippling in later life adjustment. Relating more closely to peers is as necessary a step in development as is the relationship with the mother. Pearson reviews in detail contributions by Harlow on the development of socialization in primates.