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Spontaneous communication and infant imitation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2017

Ross Buck
Ross Buck*
Affiliation:
Communication and Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269. ross.buck@uconn.edu http://comm.uconn.edu/people/faculty/buck/
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Abstract

Infant behavior is viewed in a social-communicative context centered on the phenomenon of spontaneous communication. Symbolic communication is learned and culturally structured, intentional, consists of symbols, and is propositional in content. In contrast, spontaneous communication is innate in both its sending (display) and receiving (preattunement) aspects, non-intentional, consists of signs, and is non-propositional or emotional in content. It underlies infant imitation, interactional synchrony, primary intersubjectivity, emotional empathy, and mirror neurons; and it is associated with oxytocin.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e385
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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