title: An integrative model of rational imitation in infancy.
abstract: It has been proposed that infants selectively imitate based on a rational evaluation of an observed action (Gergely, Bekkering, & Király, 2002). This rational-imitation account has been rejected based on findings which suggested that infant imitation depends on: (a) the similarity between the infant's and the model's body posture; and (b) the presence of action effects (Paulus, Hunnius, Vissers, & Bekkering, 2011). Despite this controversy, we show that both accounts have received empirical support from different fields of research. We propose that both accounts operate on different levels, and we present an integrative model, which combines the two seemingly competing accounts. Motor resonance is perceived as a mechanism that enables infants to imitate, and a rational evaluation of the model's action is conceived as a mechanism that guides infants' imitative behavior.
authors: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: norbert.zmyj@rub.de.
authors: Norbert
authors: N
authors: Zmyj
authors: Research Group, Kleinkindforschung in Thüringen, University of Erfurt, Germany.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Buttelmann
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Action effects; Imitation; Infants; Motor resonance; Rational imitation