Lecture 9 - Meltzoff & Moore Flashcards
According to Piaget, how does the capacity for imitation develop in infants?
The capacity for imitation develops gradually, with little capacity for imitation up to 6 months, a progression at 8-10 months, and delayed imitation emerging around 18-24 months.
What is intermodal matching (cross-modal matching)?
Intermodal matching is the ability to recognize an object initially inspected through one modality (e.g., touch) via another modality (e.g., vision).
How did Piaget’s observations of his daughter Jacqueline contribute to his views on imitation?
Piaget observed that Jacqueline showed minimal imitation before 8 months, only imitating gestures already in her repertoire. By 8 months, she began making connections between what she saw and her own actions, indicating the emergence of true imitation.
What key developmental milestone occurs between 18-24 months according to Piaget?
Between 18-24 months, infants gain the ability for deferred imitation, meaning they can imitate actions after a delay.
How did Meltzoff & Moore (1977) challenge Piaget’s view on early imitation?
Meltzoff & Moore’s research showed that infants as young as 12-17 days old can engage in true imitation of facial and manual gestures, contrary to Piaget’s claim that imitation only begins around 8 months.
What was the focus of Meltzoff & Moore’s 1977 study?
Their study focused on distinguishing true imitation from global arousal responses and controlled for experimenter bias and parent influence. They found that infants could imitate gestures such as tongue protrusion and mouth opening.
What did Meltzoff & Moore’s 1977 Experiment 1 reveal about infant imitation?
It found that infants as young as 12-17 days old could imitate gestures like tongue protrusion and mouth opening, suggesting that infants are capable of true imitation much earlier than previously thought.
What is the significance of innate releasing mechanisms (IRM) in Meltzoff & Moore’s work?
IRM suggests that certain gestures may trigger automatic, reflex-like responses in infants. However, Meltzoff & Moore found that imitation is not fixed and stereotypic, ruling out IRM as the sole explanation for early imitation.
What does Active Intermodal Mapping (AIM) theory propose about infant imitation?
AIM theory suggests that imitation is a goal-directed intermodal matching process, where infants compare sensory feedback from their own movements with a visual target to construct a match, leading to imitation.
How did Meltzoff & Moore (1977) challenge the behaviorist view on imitation?
Their findings showed that infants can imitate gestures from a very young age without external influences like parents’ behavior, countering the behaviorist view that imitation is a learned response shaped by environmental stimuli.
What did Meltzoff & Moore (1994) find about delayed imitation in infants?
They found that infants as young as 6 weeks could imitate gestures, and delayed imitation occurred, indicating that infants can remember and reproduce actions after a time delay.
What was the finding from Oostenbroeck et al. (2016) regarding imitation in infants?
Oostenbroeck et al. found mixed results in their study, suggesting that imitation could sometimes be a by-product of arousal, rather than a clear indicator of intentional imitation.
How did Gergely et al. (2002) contribute to our understanding of imitation in infants?
Gergely et al. showed that 14-month-old infants engaged in rational imitation, reasoning that adults used their head to switch on a light when their hands were occupied, showing that infants could infer the adult’s intention.
What did Buttleman et al. (2007) discover about chimpanzees and imitation?
They found that enculturated chimpanzees engaged in rational imitation similar to human infants, suggesting that non-human primates might also engage in goal-directed imitation based on inferred intentions.
How does Meltzoff’s work on imitation relate to the development of Theory of Mind (ToM)?
Meltzoff’s work suggests that as infants develop the ability to imitate, they begin to understand the goals and intentions of others, which is a key precursor to the development of Theory of Mind.
How does Meltzoff’s research influence our understanding of early education and parenting?
Meltzoff’s findings highlight the importance of role models and the need for parents and caregivers to be aware of how infants are learning through imitation, encouraging prosocial behavior and learning from early interactions.
What is the role of mirror neurons in imitation?
Mirror neurons are pre-motor neurons that fire both when an animal performs an action and when it observes the same action being performed, and they may play a role in imitation, Theory of Mind, empathy, and social behavior.
How does Meltzoff’s work on imitation contribute to cognitive science?
Meltzoff’s research provides insights into the development of memory and cognitive processes in infants, showing how imitation is tied to memory development and social cognition.
What is the significance of developmental changes in imitation, as outlined by Meltzoff (1995)?
Meltzoff showed that infants progressively shift from focusing on the act itself to recognizing the identity of the target and later to understanding the intentions behind actions, indicating a developing awareness of goals and social cognition.
How does mirror neuron research impact our understanding of early social behavior?
Mirror neuron research supports the idea that imitation is fundamental to social learning and empathy, and it may also explain the neurological basis for the development of Theory of Mind in humans.
