1
|
Jenkin Z, Markson L. Learning in the social being system. Behav Brain Sci 2024; 47:e132. [PMID: 38934430 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x23003138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
We argue that the core social being system is unlike other core systems in that it participates in frequent, widespread learning. As a result, the social being system is less constant throughout the lifespan and less informationally encapsulated than other core systems. This learning supports the development of the precursors of bias, but also provides avenues for preempting it.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zoe Jenkin
- Department of Philosophy and Center for Cognitive Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Lori Markson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Spelke ES. Précis of What Babies Know. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 47:e120. [PMID: 37248696 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x23002443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Where does human knowledge begin? Research on human infants, children, adults, and nonhuman animals, using diverse methods from the cognitive, brain, and computational sciences, provides evidence for six early emerging, domain-specific systems of core knowledge. These automatic, unconscious systems are situated between perceptual systems and systems of explicit concepts and beliefs. They emerge early in infancy, guide children's learning, and function throughout life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth S Spelke
- Department of Psychology, Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Neder K, Ferreira LDMP, Amorim KDS. Coconstrução do apego no primeiro semestre de vida: o papel do outro nessa constituição. PSICOLOGIA USP 2020. [DOI: 10.1590/0103-6564e190143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Resumo A sobrevida do bebê humano é possibilitada pelo sistema de apego, na medida em que ele busca proximidade, emitindo comportamentos mediadores em direção a uma figura que lhe proporciona segurança. Reflexões provindas da existência de uma intersubjetividade inata e evidências de habilidades mais refinadas do que se conhecia à época da formulação da teoria de Bowlby levaram à hipótese de que o comportamento de apego pode ser observado antes do proposto por esse autor. Empreendeu-se um estudo de caso, em que se analisaram videogravações do primeiro semestre de vida de Marina. Selecionaram-se e analisaram-se microgeneticamente episódios de comportamento diferencial do bebê com seus cuidadores antes dos seis meses de idade; e mapearam-se os comportamentos mediadores com cada cuidador. O comportamento diferencial com uma figura discriminada foi visualizado já aos três meses de vida. Discutiram-se os processos dialógicos e culturais que repercutiram na seleção da mãe como figura de apego.
Collapse
|
4
|
Beyond neonatal imitation: Aerodigestive stereotypies, speech development, and social interaction in the extended perinatal period. Behav Brain Sci 2019; 40:e403. [PMID: 29342817 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x17001923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
In our target article, we argued that the positive results of neonatal imitation are likely to be by-products of normal aerodigestive development. Our hypothesis elicited various responses on the role of social interaction in infancy, the methodological issues about imitation experiments, and the relation between the aerodigestive theory and the development of speech. Here we respond to the commentaries.
Collapse
|
5
|
Hsu CT, Sims T, Chakrabarti B. How mimicry influences the neural correlates of reward: An fMRI study. Neuropsychologia 2017; 116:61-67. [PMID: 28823750 PMCID: PMC6078711 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Revised: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Mimicry has been suggested to function as a “social glue”, a key mechanism that helps to build social rapport. It leads to increased feeling of closeness toward the mimicker as well as greater liking, suggesting close bidirectional links with reward. In recent work using eye-gaze tracking, we have demonstrated that the reward value of being mimicked, measured using a preferential looking paradigm, is directly proportional to trait empathy (Neufeld and Chakrabarti, 2016). In the current manuscript, we investigated the reward value of the act of mimicking, using a simple task manipulation that involved allowing or inhibiting spontaneous facial mimicry in response to dynamic expressions of positive emotion. We found greater reward-related neural activity in response to the condition where mimicry was allowed compared to that where mimicry was inhibited. The magnitude of this link from mimicry to reward response was positively correlated to trait empathy. Mimicry is a core feature of human social interaction, and builds social rapport. Mimicry arguably helps build social rapport through its links with the reward system. Spontaneous facial mimicry was restricted (or not) in this fMRI experiment. Reward-related neural response was greater when mimicry was unrestricted. Reward-related neural response to mimicry was proportional to trait empathy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Ting Hsu
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Thomas Sims
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Bhismadev Chakrabarti
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AL, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Yang TX, Allen RJ, Yu QJ, Chan RCK. The influence of input and output modality on following instructions in working memory. Sci Rep 2015; 5:17657. [PMID: 26634694 PMCID: PMC4669483 DOI: 10.1038/srep17657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 10/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Following instructions is an important component of learning and has been shown to rely on working memory. This study examined the ability to follow instructions within working memory under varying input and output modalities. In Experiment 1, participants heard, read, or viewed demonstration of short sequences of instructions, and recalled either by oral repetition or physical enactment. There was a significant main effect of encoding, showing superior recall performance when instructions were demonstrated relative to spoken or written presentation. Experiment 2 examined whether recall is further improved when instructions are presented both in spoken and demonstrated form, relative to single modality presentation. The advantage for demonstration over spoken instructions was replicated, and dual input was superior to spoken instructions. However, dual input did not bring extra benefit compared to demonstration of instructions. We also observed a significant enacted-retrieval recall advantage. These findings suggest effects of both input and output modalities on the ability to remember and follow instructions in working memory. Outcomes substantially inform the underexplored but important new area of action-based working memory and its links to embodied cognition, with implications for pedagogic practice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tian-xiao Yang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Qi-jing Yu
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, USA
| | - Raymond C. K. Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Sims TB, Neufeld J, Johnstone T, Chakrabarti B. Autistic traits modulate frontostriatal connectivity during processing of rewarding faces. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 9:2010-6. [PMID: 24493838 PMCID: PMC4249479 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2013] [Revised: 12/02/2013] [Accepted: 01/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Deficits in facial mimicry have been widely reported in autism. Some studies have suggested that these deficits are restricted to spontaneous mimicry and do not extend to volitional mimicry. We bridge these apparently inconsistent observations by testing the impact of reward value on neural indices of mimicry and how autistic traits modulate this impact. Neutral faces were conditioned with high and low reward. Subsequently, functional connectivity between the ventral striatum (VS) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) was measured while neurotypical adults (n = 30) watched happy expressions made by these conditioned faces. We found greater VS-IFG connectivity in response to high reward vs low reward happy faces. This difference was negatively proportional to autistic traits, suggesting that reduced spontaneous mimicry of social stimuli seen in autism, may be related to a failure in the modulation of the mirror system by the reward system rather than a circumscribed deficit in the mirror system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas B Sims
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Janina Neufeld
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Tom Johnstone
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Bhismadev Chakrabarti
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AL, UK
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Warreyn P, van der Paelt S, Roeyers H. Social-communicative abilities as treatment goals for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: the importance of imitation, joint attention, and play. Dev Med Child Neurol 2014; 56:712-6. [PMID: 24713028 DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.12455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder with a lifelong impact on multiple domains of functioning. Often, a diagnosis is possible by 3 years of age. Given the benefits of early intervention, it is advisable to start treatment as soon as possible after the diagnosis has been made. Among other factors, early intervention should focus on social-communicative abilities such as imitation, joint attention, and play. In this review, the typical developmental course and functions of these social-communicative abilities are described, and the problems young children with ASD experience in this domain. In addition, different approaches to promoting these abilities are explained. The authors recommend the inclusion of imitation, joint attention, and play as treatment goals in community settings for children with ASD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Petra Warreyn
- Department of Experimental-clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Marinović V, Hoehl S, Pauen S. Neural correlates of human–animal distinction: An ERP-study on early categorical differentiation with 4- and 7-month-old infants and adults. Neuropsychologia 2014; 60:60-76. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2013] [Revised: 05/15/2014] [Accepted: 05/19/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
10
|
Loetz C, Müller J, Frick E, Petersen Y, Hvidt NC, Mauer C. Attachment theory and spirituality: two threads converging in palliative care? EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE : ECAM 2013; 2013:740291. [PMID: 24319482 PMCID: PMC3844265 DOI: 10.1155/2013/740291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2013] [Revised: 09/10/2013] [Accepted: 09/16/2013] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to discuss and explore the interrelation between two concepts, attachment theory and the concept of spirituality, which are important to palliative care and to founding a multivariate understanding of the patient's needs and challenges. Both concepts have been treated by research in diverse and multiform ways, but little effort has yet been made to integrate them into one theoretical framework in reference to the palliative context. In this paper, we begin an attempt to close this scientific gap theoretically. Following the lines of thought in this paper, we assume that spirituality can be conceptualized as an adequate response of a person's attachment pattern to the peculiarity of the palliative situation. Spirituality can be seen both as a recourse to securely based relationships and as an attempt to explore the ultimate unknown, the mystery of one's own death. Thus, spirituality in the palliative context corresponds to the task of attachment behavior: to transcend symbiosis while continuing bonds and thus to explore the unknown environment independently and without fear. Spiritual activity is interpreted as a human attachment behavior option that receives special quality and importance in the terminal stage of life. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed in the final section of the paper.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Loetz
- Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Clinic and Policlinic for Palliative Medicine, Germany
| | | | - Eckhard Frick
- Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Clinic and Policlinic for Palliative Medicine, Munich School of Philosophy, Germany
| | - Yvonne Petersen
- Hospital of the “Barmherzige Brüder,” Palliative Unit, Germany
| | - Niels Christian Hvidt
- Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Clinic and Policlinic for Palliative Medicine, Germany
- Research Unit of Health, Man and Society, Institute of Public Health, SDU, Denmark
- Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies, Germany
| | - Christine Mauer
- Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Clinic and Policlinic for Palliative Medicine, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Warreyn P, Roeyers H. See what I see, do as I do: Promoting joint attention and imitation in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2013; 18:658-71. [DOI: 10.1177/1362361313493834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Since imitation and joint attention are both important abilities for young children and since children with autism spectrum disorder show a range of problems in these domains, imitation and joint attention are important targets for intervention. In this study, we examined the possibility of promoting imitation and joint attention by means of a training programme specifically designed for low-intensity, non-residential treatment. Two matched groups of 18 children each participated in the study. The experimental group, receiving the training programme, improved significantly more on joint attention than the group receiving only treatment as usual. Only the experimental group obtained a significantly higher imitation score during the post-test compared to the pre-test. This study shows that it is possible to promote joint attention with a low-intensity treatment programme. The results concerning imitation are more modest. Future replications should involve measures of stability and generalization.
Collapse
|
12
|
O'Doherty K, Troseth GL, Shimpi PM, Goldenberg E, Akhtar N, Saylor MM. Third-party social interaction and word learning from video. Child Dev 2011; 82:902-15. [PMID: 21418054 PMCID: PMC3089674 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01579.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In previous studies, very young children have learned words while "overhearing" a conversation, yet they have had trouble learning words from a person on video. In Study 1, 64 toddlers (mean age=29.8 months) viewed an object-labeling demonstration in 1 of 4 conditions. In 2, the speaker (present or on video) directly addressed the child, and in 2, the speaker addressed another adult who was present or was with her on video. Study 2 involved 2 follow-up conditions with 32 toddlers (mean age=30.4 months). Across the 2 studies, the results indicated that toddlers learned words best when participating in or observing a reciprocal social interaction with a speaker who was present or on video.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katherine O'Doherty
- Department of Psychology and HumanDevelopment, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203–5721, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Slater A, Quinn PC, Kelly DJ, Lee K, Longmore CA, McDonald PR, Pascalis O. The Shaping of the Face Space in Early Infancy: Becoming a Native Face Processor. CHILD DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES 2010; 4:205-211. [PMID: 21562620 PMCID: PMC3090162 DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2010.00147.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Face perception remains one of the most intensively researched areas in psychology and allied disciplines, and there has been much debate regarding the early origins and experiential determinants of face processing. This article reviews studies, the majority of which have appeared in the past decade, that discuss possible mechanisms underlying face perception at birth and document the prominent role of experience in shaping infants' face-processing abilities. In the first months of life, infants develop a preference for female and own-race faces and become better able to recognize and categorize own-race and own-species faces. This perceptual narrowing and shaping of the "face space" forms a foundation for later face expertise in childhood and adulthood and testifies to the remarkable plasticity of the developing visual system.
Collapse
|
14
|
Thirioux B, Jorland G, Bret M, Tramus MH, Berthoz A. Walking on a line: a motor paradigm using rotation and reflection symmetry to study mental body transformations. Brain Cogn 2009; 70:191-200. [PMID: 19299062 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2009.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2008] [Revised: 02/01/2009] [Accepted: 02/02/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Researchers have recently reintroduced the own-body in the center of the social interaction theory. From the discovery of the mirror neurons in the ventral premotor cortex of the monkey's brain, a human embodied model of interindividual relationship based on simulation processes has been advanced, according to which we tend to embody spontaneously the other individuals' behavior when interacting. Although the neurocognitive mechanisms of the embodiment process have started being described, the mechanisms of self-location during embodiment are still less known. Here, we designed a motor paradigm which allows investigating in ecologically more valid conditions whether we embody another person's intransitive action with an embodied or disembodied self-location. Accordingly, we propose a phenomenological model of self-other interaction showing how perspective-taking mechanisms may relate on mental body transformation and offering a promising way to investigate the different sorts of intersubjectivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bérangère Thirioux
- Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception et de l'Action, Collège de France, France; Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Strouse GA, Troseth GL. "Don't try this at home": toddlers' imitation of new skills from people on video. J Exp Child Psychol 2009; 101:262-80. [PMID: 18675431 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2008.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2007] [Revised: 05/24/2008] [Accepted: 05/26/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Imitation of people on educational television is a potential way for very young children to learn new skills. Although toddlers in previous studies exhibited a "video deficit" in learning, 24-month-olds in Study 1 successfully reproduced behaviors modeled by a person who was on video as well as they did those modeled by a person who was present in the room (even after a 24-h delay). Neither displaced filming context nor cuts between actions affected toddlers' imitation from video. Shortening the demonstration in Study 2 affected imitation in the video condition but not in the live condition. In Study 3, 24-month-olds who viewed the original longer videos on their family TV screens (with which they had a viewing history) imitated significantly less than those who viewed the videos on the laboratory monitor. Imitation of a live modeler was the same across settings (home or lab). Implications for toddlers' judgments of reliable information sources and for the design of educational television programs are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle A Strouse
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Nashville, TN 37203-5721, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
McEwen F, Happé F, Bolton P, Rijsdijk F, Ronald A, Dworzynski K, Plomin R. Origins of Individual Differences in Imitation: Links With Language, Pretend Play, and Socially Insightful Behavior in Two-Year-Old Twins. Child Dev 2007; 78:474-92. [PMID: 17381785 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01010.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Imitation, vocabulary, pretend play, and socially insightful behavior were investigated in 5,206 same- and opposite-sex 2-year-old twin pairs in the United Kingdom. Individual differences in imitative ability were due to modest heritability (30%), while environmental factors shared between twins (42%) and unique to each twin (28%) also made significant contributions to the variance. Imitation correlated significantly, although modestly, with vocabulary, pretend play, and socially insightful behavior, and the strongest relationship was with vocabulary. A model that represented the covariance between the variables as being due to correlated latent genetic and environmental factors fitted the data well, with shared environmental factors influencing most of the covariance. Parents who encourage imitation may also tend to foster the development of language, pretence, and socially insightful behavior.
Collapse
|
17
|
Abstract
In this article, we examine the question of what information is processed during observational learning by evaluating a variety of methods, theories, and empirical data. Initially, we review work involving neuroimaging techniques and infant imitation. We then evaluate data from behavioural experiments involving adults, wherein a variety of attempts have been made to isolate the critical or minimal information constraining the acquisition of coordination. This body of research has included comparisons between video and point-light displays, manipulations to the amount and type of information presented in the display, the collection of point-of-gaze data, and manipulations to the task context in terms of outcome goals. We conclude that observational learning is governed by specific features of the model's action (i.e. motions of the end effector) and the task (i.e. outcome constraints) and, in contrast with traditional theoretical modelling, more global aspects of a model (i.e. the relative motions within and between joints) do not appear to be the primary method for constraining action execution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicola J Hodges
- School of Human Kinetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
18
|
Knott F, Lewis C, Williams T. Sibling interaction of children with autism: development over 12 months. J Autism Dev Disord 2007; 37:1987-95. [PMID: 17310402 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-006-0347-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2005] [Accepted: 12/05/2006] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
While deficits in social interaction are central to autism, the sibling relationship has been found to provide a key medium for the development of such skills. Naturalistic observations of sibling pairs including children with autism and controls with Down syndrome were made across two time periods, twelve months apart. Consistent with the evidence on typically developing children, the amount and rate of initiations of both prosocial and agonistic interaction increased, but further analysis suggested that these interactions were stage-managed by the typically developing children. Results show social interaction and imitation in children with autism and the special role that sibling interactions can play. Longitudinal research on the acquisition of social skills in children with developmental disabilities is needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fiona Knott
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 217, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AH, UK.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
19
|
Smith V, Mirenda P, Zaidman-Zait A. Predictors of expressive vocabulary growth in children with autism. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2007; 50:149-60. [PMID: 17344556 DOI: 10.1044/1092-4388(2007/013)] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the variability and predictors of expressive vocabulary development in children with autism and very delayed language. METHOD This study involved 35 children with autism whose initial chronological ages were between 20 and 71 months and whose initial expressive vocabularies were less than 60 words. Their expressive vocabularies were measured at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months following the start of intervention using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Developmental Inventory (L. Fenson et al., 1993). RESULTS A cluster analysis revealed 4 distinct patterns of expressive vocabulary development over 2 years. The number of words said, the presence of verbal imitation skills and pretend play skills with objects, and the number of gestures to initiate joint attention at baseline were all associated with the cluster of children who demonstrated the most rapid expressive vocabulary growth over time. The 2 clusters of children who demonstrated the least vocabulary growth had the most significant developmental delays and autism severity at 6 months, but not at baseline. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the heterogeneity in language development in young children with autism and, consistent with other reports, confirms that specific prelinguistic skills are predictive of development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Smith
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 6-102 Education North, Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G5, Canada.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
20
|
Knopf M, Kraus U, Kressley-Mba RA. Relational information processing of novel unrelated actions by infants. Infant Behav Dev 2006; 29:44-53. [PMID: 17138260 DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2005.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2005] [Revised: 07/07/2005] [Accepted: 07/08/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Declarative memory in infants is often assessed via deferred imitation. Not much is known about the information processing basis of the memory effect found in these experiments. While in the typical deferred imitation study the order of actions remains the same during demonstration and retrieval, in two experiments with n=30 respective n=25, 10- and 11-month-old infants, the order of novel unrelated actions in demonstration and retrieval was varied (same, reversed, mixed). This allowed a separation of item-specific from item-relational information processing. In both experiments best memory performance was found when the order of target actions remained the same during encoding and recall, demonstrating that infants seem to rely on item-specific as well as item-relational information which has to be ad hoc constructed while encoding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monika Knopf
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Department of Developmental Psychology, Georg-Voigt-Str. 8, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
|