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Contagious behavior: An alternative approach to mirror-like phenomena

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2014

Robert R. Provine
Robert R. Provine*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250. provine@umbc.edu
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Abstract

Contagious behaviors such as yawning and itching/scratching have mirror-like properties and clearly defined stimulus and motor parameters; they are also relatively easy to study and should be part of the debate about mirror neurons and the neurological mechanisms of social behavior. The broadly tuned, multimodal stimuli of contagious behavior challenge present accounts of mirror mechanisms that focus on specific, mirrored acts.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 216 - 217
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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