We have described an interconnected group of studies bearing upon the separation-individuation process. The settings that we have evolved for observing children—a specially planned playroom for

normal toddlers and a therapeutic situation for psychotic children—were described. While we are convinced that these observational settings offer rich possibilities for research, our experience is that a changing array of research strategies best allows us to take advantage of these possibilities. We have presented here some of our research strategies, some problems that they presented, some incidental findings that grew out of these very problems, and some illustrative findings.