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Turning the tide: A plea for cognitively lean interpretations of infant behaviour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2017

Miriam Beisert ,
Norbert Zmyj  and
Moritz M. Daum
Miriam Beisert
Affiliation:
Psychologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland. m.beisert@psychologie.uzh.ch daum@psychologie.uzh.ch https://www.psychologie.uzh.ch/de/fachrichtungen/devpsy/personen/mbeisert.html http://www.psychologie.uzh.ch/de/fachrichtungen/devpsy/personen/daum.html
Norbert Zmyj
Affiliation:
Institut für Psychologie, Technische Universität Dortmund, Psychologie und Soziologie, 44227 Dortmund, Germany. norbert.zmyj@tu-dortmund.de http://www.psych.tu-dortmund.de/cms/psych/de/Home/Mitarbeiter/psychologie_ifp/Zmyj_Norbert.html
Moritz M. Daum
Affiliation:
Psychologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland. m.beisert@psychologie.uzh.ch daum@psychologie.uzh.ch https://www.psychologie.uzh.ch/de/fachrichtungen/devpsy/personen/mbeisert.html http://www.psychologie.uzh.ch/de/fachrichtungen/devpsy/personen/daum.html
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Abstract

Keven & Akins (K&A) revisit the controversial subject of neonatal imitation through analysing the physiological foundations of neonatal spontaneous behaviour. Consequently, they regard imitative capacities in neonates as unlikely. We welcome this approach as an overdue encouragement to refuse cognitively rich interpretations as far as cognitively lean interpretations are conceivable, and apply this rationale to other phenomena in early childhood development.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e383
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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