An unsettled debate: Key empirical and theoretical questions are still open (original) (raw)

Neonatal Imitation: Theory, Experimental Design, and Significance for the Field of Social Cognition

Frontiers in psychology, 2017

Neonatal imitation has rich implications for neuroscience, developmental psychology, and social cognition, but there is little consensus about this phenomenon. The primary empirical question, whether or not neonatal imitation exists, is not settled. Is it possible to give a balanced evaluation of the theories and methodologies at stake so as to facilitate real progress with respect to the primary empirical question? In this paper, we address this question. We present the operational definition of differential imitation and discuss why it is important to keep it in mind. The operational definition indicates that neonatal imitation may not look like prototypical imitation and sets non-obvious requirements on what can count as evidence for imitation. We also examine the principal explanations for the extant findings and argue that two theories, the arousal hypothesis and the Association by Similarity Theory, which interprets neonatal imitation as differential induction of spontaneous b...

Positive evidence for neonatal imitation: A general response, adaptive engagement

Developmental Science

Early infant imitation has been questioned since the first published reports on this phenomenon (Meltzoff & Moore, 1977), and the debate further continued recently when Oostenbroek et al. (2016) tested infants at 1, 3, 6 and 9 weeks of age on their imitation of 11 gestures and found no evidence of imitation. When Meltzoff et al. (2018) re-analysed the sample, however, they found evidence of the imitation of tongue protrusion and pointed out that, although the other gestures in the design were meaningful longitudinally, they were unsuitable for testing neonatal infants' imitative abilities. Besides methodological differences (Meltzoff et al., 2018), the exact age and developmental stage of infants has often been overlooked in these debates. Looking at studies that have found no evidence of neonatal imitation, the majority tested 'neonates' who were beyond the early neonatal or perinatal period of life (WHO Geneva) that is, after the first week of life (Anisfeld, 1996; Anisfeld

Animal studies help clarify misunderstandings about neonatal imitation

Empirical studies are incompatible with the proposal that neonatal imitation is arousal-driven or declining with age. Nonhuman primate (NHP) studies reveal a functioning brain mirror system from birth, developmental continuity in imitation and later sociability, and the malleability of neonatal imitation, shaped by the early environment. A narrow focus on arousal effects and reflexes may grossly underestimate neonatal capacities.

Why the confusion around neonatal imitation? A review

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 2013

Considerable research efforts have been expended investigating imitation in newborns over the past 35 years. This is because neonatal imitation is extremely controversial, with debates focusing on whether the phenomenon even exists, what the mechanism is that drives it, and the function that it serves. Three prominent theories that the field currently offers are: (1) neonatal imitation is a genuine act of social communication mediated through an abstract representational system; (2) the phenomenon is actually an involuntary, inborn reflex limited to tongue protrusion; and (3) imitation in newborns is a product of arousal. These views continue to be maintained without much promise of resolution, and it is the aim of this review to investigate why. Here, we review the history of neonatal imitation research and these debates. We will critically examine the empirical basis for neonatal imitation, including studies from the past decade that have not been reviewed to date. We consider what may contribute to the confusion of the interpretation of neonatal imitation, such as newborn state regulation, testing context, coding and scoring. We conclude with comments pointing to new ways of studying and interpreting the controversial phenomenon of neonatal imitation that have not yet been proposed.

Comprehensive Longitudinal Study Challenges the Existence of Neonatal Imitation in Humans

Current biology : CB, 2016

Human children copy others' actions with high fidelity, supporting early cultural learning and assisting in the development and maintenance of behavioral traditions [1]. Imitation has long been assumed to occur from birth [2-4], with influential theories (e.g., [5-7]) placing an innate imitation module at the foundation of social cognition (potentially underpinned by a mirror neuron system [8, 9]). Yet, the very phenomenon of neonatal imitation has remained controversial. Empirical support is mixed and interpretations are varied [10-16], potentially because previous investigations have relied heavily on cross-sectional designs with relatively small samples and with limited controls [17, 18]. Here, we report surprising results from the most comprehensive longitudinal study of neonatal imitation to date. We presented infants (n = 106) with nine social and two non-social models and scored their responses at 1, 3, 6, and 9 weeks of age. Longitudinal analyses indicated that the infan...

Neonatal imitation and its sensory-motor mechanism

New Frontiers in Mirror Neuron Research (Book), 2015

A developmental approach is critical to understanding mirror neurons and debates surrounding their properties, plasticity, function, and evolution. The presence of inter--individual differences in early social competencies, such as neonatal imitation, are indicative of the complex nature of interactions among genetic, epigenetic, and non--genetic (environmental) factors in shaping action--perception brain networks. In the present review, we propose that three aspects of early social development may explain variability in neonatal imitation, specifically (1) individual differences in sensory--motor matching skills, underpinned by mirror neurons, functioning from birth and refined through postnatal experiences, (2) individual differences in social engagements, with some infants demonstrating stronger preferences for social interactions than others, and (3) more general temperamental differences, such as differences in extroversion or reactivity. We present findings and propose future directions aimed at testing these possibilities by examining individual differences related to imitative skill. Neonatal imitation is a useful tool for assessing infants' sensory--motor matching maturity, social motivation, and temperament, particularly when used with a mindfulness of infants' changing social motivations and expectations. The presence of an action--perception mechanism at birth can be better understood by considering the complex interactions among infants' social competences, sensory--motor skills, environmental influences, and individual differences in social interest and temperament.

Imitation in infancy: The wealth of the stimulus

2011

Imitation requires the imitator to solve the correspondence problem -to translate visual information from modelled action into matching motor output. It has been widely accepted for some 30 years that the correspondence problem is solved by a specialised, innate cognitive mechanism. This is the conclusion of a poverty of the stimulus argument, realised in the active intermodal matching model of imitation, which assumes that human neonates can imitate a range of body movements. An alternative, wealth of the stimulus argument, embodied in the associative sequence learning model of imitation, proposes that the correspondence problem is solved by sensorimotor learning, and that the experience necessary for this kind of learning is provided by the sociocultural environment during human development. In a detailed and wide-ranging review of research on imitation and imitation-relevant behavior in infancy and beyond, we find substantially more evidence in favour of the wealth argument than of the poverty argument.

Learning by Imitation in Infants and Young Children. Final Report

1976

Investigating learning by imite'ion in infants and young children, this study addresses itself to the following issues: whether there is systematic accommodation, whether this imitation folloos a universal sequence, how the development of an act over many trials relates to the development of indicators over many months, and what the phenomenon reveals about normal infant development in its social context. By meeting the gaze of the investigator, 34 infants elicited a rhythmic burst of 5 mouth movements, opening and closing. After main? trials a majority of the infants themselves produced a burst of 2 or more such movements. Although no universal sequence of acts emerged from the data, a general form of accommodation was observed: (1) an orienting to the investigator, (2) a series of imitation of single features of the model,-beginning with mouth movement, and (3) a string of 2 or more features of the model, before (4) integrating the features into bursts of mouth opening and closing.

The social context of imitation in infancy

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2005

Infants increasingly generalize deferred imitation across environmental contexts between 6 and 18 months of age. In three experiments with 126 6-, 9-, 12-, 15-, and 18-month-olds, we examined the role of the social context in deferred imitation. One experimenter demonstrated target actions on a hand puppet, and a second experimenter tested imitation 24 h later. When the second experimenter was novel, infants did not exhibit deferred imitation at any age; when infants were preexposed to the second experimenter, all of them did. Imitating immediately after the demonstration also facilitated deferred imitation in a novel social context at all ages but 6 months. InfantsÕ pervasive failure to exhibit deferred imitation in a novel social context may reflect evolutionary selection pressures that favored conservative behavior in social animals.