This book summarizes more than four decades of research on imitation in infancy and its relation to early learning and sociocognitive development in typically and atypically developing children. The studies were carried out in a Scandinavian context and thus provide important cultural validation of the central developmental processes.
The book is divided into three parts:
Part one focuses on the social and cognitive aspects of imitation, discussing links to early parent-infant interaction, and developmental meaning. It addresses evidence for an imitative capacity at birth for typical and atypical infants. Also covered are early individual differences in imitation, the role of imitation as a social and cognitive learning mechanism in early development, and possible links between imitation and temperament. - Part two presents unique longitudinal studies on early memory development using deferred imitation as the key method. It discusses the biological basis of memory and explores the idea that deferred imitation is an indicator of an infant’s ability to understand intentions.
- Part three focuses on imitation in young children with autism and with Down syndrome. It examines the role of imitation as a “deficit” as well as a vehicle for change when used interactively in early interventions for children with autism.
Imitation from Infancy Through Early Childhood is an essential resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as clinicians and other professionals in developmental psychology, cognitive development, psycholinguistics, child psychiatry, and developmental neuroscience.
Author(s): Mikael Heimann
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 202
City: Cham
Acknowledgment
Contents
About the Author
Chapter 1: Prologue
References
Part I: From the Social Infant to the Verbal Child: Insights from Imitation
Chapter 2: A Fresh Look on Neonatal Imitation
Is There a Capacity to Imitate at Birth?
Defining Neonatal Imitation
Neonatal Imitation Among Typical Children
Using the Mother as the Model
Imitation at Birth and the First 3 Months of Life
A Note on Lip Protrusion
Do Temporal Aspects Influence Neonatal Imitation?
Achieving Reasonable Matching Although Many Systems Are Immature
References
Chapter 3: Neonatal Imitation and Children with Autism or Down Syndrome
Motivation and Theoretical Background
Searching for Studies on Neonatal Imitation and Atypical Development
Neonatal Imitation in a Child That Later Developed Autism
Home Video Observation
Near-Neonatal Imitation in Infants with Down Syndrome
An Attempt to Sum Up: Suggesting an Updated Model
References
Chapter 4: Imitation at Birth and Then What?
Neonatal Imitation and Early Mother-Infant Interaction
Neonatal Imitation and Imitation Later in the First Year
Imitation Across Time and Dimensions: Following Children from 9 to 36 Months
Procedure
Results for Immediate and Deferred Imitation
Results for Facial Imitation
Individual Response Patterns for Facial Imitation
Is There Stability in Imitation Across Ages and Dimensions?
References
Chapter 5: Imitation and Temperament in Infancy
A Personal Starting Point
Why Temperament?
Facial Imitation and Temperament at 3 Months of Life
Early Imitation and Temperament: Sample 1
Early Imitation and Temperament: Sample 2
Facial Imitation and Temperament Beyond Infancy up to 3 Years of Age
An Attempt to Tie It All Together
References
Part II: Memory and Imitation in Infancy
Chapter 6: A Window into the Preverbal Child’s Mind
Deferred Imitation and Our Memory Systems
A Note on Infantile Amnesia
Deferred Imitation and Then What?
Memory and Electrophysiology
A Bit More on the Method Used in Our 2015 Study
A Bit on What We Found
References
Chapter 7: A Rational Mind?
Imitation of Novel Acts from Memory: Are Rational Processes Involved?
General Method and Procedure
Deferred and Rational Imitation in an Unfamiliar Setting
Unfamiliar setting: What We Found
Deferred and Rational Imitation in Familiar Settings
Familiar Setting: What We Found
Collapsing the Two Experiments
Aiming for an Integrative Conclusion
References
Part III: Imitation: A Vehicle for Change for Children with Autism
Chapter 8: Is Imitation an Obstacle for Children with Autism?
Is Autism Today and Yesterday the Same Thing?
A Note on Imitation Training in the Early Years: A Historical Perspective
How I Entered the Field
Do How We Present a Task Determine If Children with Autism Imitate?
Deferred Imitation and Memory in Children with Autism
References
Chapter 9: A Can Opener of the Social World
Imitation Affects Social Awareness: Some Experimental Evidence
A “Being-Imitated” Intervention for Children with ASD
Implementation of the Interventions
What We Found
Interpreting the Results
“Being Imitated” and Joint Attention
References
Part IV: Ending
Chapter 10: It’s Closing Time: For Now
The Law of Jante
The Influx of Culture
The Missing Gold Standard?
Fallacies to Avoid
Is Neonatal Imitation an Ontogenetic Adaptation or a Spandrel?
The Neonate as an Influencer
What About the Brain and Neonatal Imitation?
Looking Ahead: Notes for the Future
Regression and Imitation
Is There a Temporal Architecture That Can Explain Neonatal Imitation?
References
Index
