This paper presents a tentative framework that guides a research program in developmental auditory behavior. The determinants of developmental change are defined and related to adaptive processes in general and hearing processes in particular. Data on auditory behavior in the human neonate are reviewed and related to correlates in adult and infrahuman performance. Thinking and observations are applied to a preliminary model for the intrinsic organization of hearing mechanisms, and the general nature of developmental elaborations is discussed. Relations with speech and language are considered, and possible tests of the model are noted.